The No Life Twin
by Shadow Master
Summary: BtVSHellsing There are people who say that it is a terrible thing to be forgotten by those around you. However as one Xander Harris is about to find out it can be even worse to be noticed by the wrong people.
1. Chapter 1

"The No Life Twin" by Shadow Master aka Ryley Breen

Disclaimer: This is to inform readers that I do not own either the Anime series called Hellsing or the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer much less the characters connected to those shows. I am making no profit whatsoever and am writing this fan fiction purely for my own enjoyment as well as the enjoyment of those who choose to read it. Therefore it would be greatly appreciated if you did not seek legal action against me concerning my use of the two shows' characters or any other components that the shows are made of. Mostly because I am currently only earning minimum wage and can barely afford my apartment at the moment. In short the legal costs of such proceedings would greatly exceed anything that could be gained from me even if you left me with nothing but a wooden barrel to wear and sold everything else of mine to the highest bidder. So basically it would be a waste of both time and effort.

Note: Yet another plot bunny has clamped down on my butt demanding to be written and it is such a cute little thing (with seriously sharp plot teeth) that I feel compelled to at least write one chapter. Be forewarned however that with every review you post asking for more will only make it even hungrier for attention and force me to write another chapter to placate it. Still it is the burden all we creative writers have to deal with when we start this job/hobby/lifestyle so there's really little point in complaining. Still keep in mind when you submit your reviews that the time between new chapters will differ from time to time depending on what it will take to get this particular plot bunny to let go. Sometimes it only takes a Twinkie to get him to let go of my butt and sometimes it takes an all you can eat buffet. Still as I know what it is like to read a truly good fanfic and wait eagerly for the author to pump out another chapter I will do my best to continue this fanfic for as long as possible.

Note 2: In the Buffy universe this takes place soon after the episode "The Zeppo" but I will keep the exact date vague to avoid getting pinned down by continuity errors. As for the Hellsing information all I can say for certain is that it occurs after the joint attack on the Millennium group by both the Iscariot and the Hellsing Organization. Keep in mind that I have only watched the Anime Hellsing episodes and have not read the manga so I am bound to get numerous facts wrong besides the basics. Unless you the readers can point me in the direction of a site online where I can at least read a summary of the manga issues I am basically going to make up stuff on my own.

The No Life Twin 

"This situation is intolerable! Not only have we lost our primary base but with the exception of a few good officers mein friends our forces are seriously depleted!" yelled one of many men seated around a large conference table, "Even if we push the new FREAK chip prototypes into mass production it would take five years to regain our former position in the vorld!"

"Calm yourself Herr Rommel! The Millenium group has never been about numbers or any one strategic location." another voice of a female nature said, "It has always been about an ideal, a way of thinking, and as long as a handful of us remain our organization cannot be stopped or destroyed."

"Perhaps fraulin but even you must concede that the combined attack of the Hellsing organization and Iscariot have seriously compromised our agenda." another voice that seemed to belong to a grandfather said, "So the question now is: how do we deal with the situation?"

It was a question that all thirteen members sitting at this council have been discussing amongst themselves ever since their base in Brazil had been decimated by a combined effort from two thorns in their collective backsides. Since the founding members of the Millennium group had been forced to flee Germany during the final years of World War II they had known that their best defense had been absolute secrecy. No two installations were to know about each other or that there existed a worldwide network of such compounds. Each was to be outfitted with the very latest in technology and occult materials as well as various scientists and willing recruits. The concept was much the same as having components of a single device being constructed at a dozen or more locations all across the globe. It would prevent the people at each location from having two clues as to what they were helping to construct or what its ultimate purpose would be. In the case of the compounds established by Millennium by making sure that each installation believing that they were the only one it would not matter if it was destroyed or captured. The enemy would look at the evidence presented and determine that the installation they sacked was the only one and terminate their search after a brief post operation investigation. The key was all in the presentation of both the first tidbits of information to the way the 'final confrontation' was played out. Take the matter too

lightly and the enemy would know they were being fooled but put too much effort into it and you would only dig your own grave in terms of resources. It had been a trusted safeguard against serious damage for the past fifty years but this time however it had proved somewhat inadequate.

The Brazilian base had been one of their more important installations where their primary research and development of new FREAK chip prototypes were devised as well as being the primary residence of a few key operatives. Major Max, The Doctor, Captain Hans Gunsche and Lieutenant Zorin Blitz just to name a few of the more unique operatives that were confirmed as perishing in the battle. Of all the valuable personnel stationed there only two officers returned to the safe house two weeks later and one of them had been almost catatonic. That one was currently in the lower levels undergoing treatments both to return her to somewhat active status as well as to test several new supplementary implants to the main FREAK chip implant. The other was a few days away from finishing his regeneration cycle and returning to active duty. It was hoped that once the first was more useful and the other was fit for duty that efforts to restore their lost assets could begin. However before that could occur they had to deal with how to keep their current state of reduced strength from delaying their overall timetable.

"Obviously one of priorities must be to devise a more effective counter measure to Hellsing's mideon weapon Alucard." a smooth sounding man stated with the utmost confidence, "Up until the attack it was believed by this board, due to the assurances of Major Max, that his daughter Lieutenant Rip Van Winkle would be that counter measure. All historical accounts we have been able to uncover suggest that she is his equal in power or at least close enough to defeat him with some assistance. However judging from the young man recovering in the infirmary's report she was almost completely incapacitated with fear during the entire altercation and only put forth a substandard effort when encountering Alucard himself. Obviously something more must be done."

"You sound as though you have an idea Herr Keitel. Perhaps you could tell us what you have in mind?" asked a particularly annoyed woman at the far end of the conference table.

"Indeed I do, fraulin, indeed I do. The initial premise surrounding recruiting a true nosferatu of equal or greater power than Alucard himself in order to neutralize him as a threat was essentially correct. However it failed to take into account the fact that as the mideon is said to be the first vampire he was quite naturally the purest and most powerful of his kind." Keital replied never losing the confidence in his voice, "Therefore while it might be possible to acquire a nosferatu close to Alucard's power level they will inevitably be found lacking in one area or another."

"Could you please move along to your solution Herr Keitel?" asked an impatient male voice to Keitel"s right.

"Patience was never your strong suit was it Herr Weichs? As I was saying any existing nosferatu would be unable to beat Alucard due to a deficiency in one area or another." Keital said with barely a hint of anger at being interrupted, "So logic would dictate that only Alucard could possibly defeat Alucard."

"What you are speaking is pure nonsense Herr Keitel! Even if we could devise a way to turn the mideon's own power back on him his regenerative powers are apparently without limit. The failed attempt by Incognito should be proof enough of that." Rommel said clearly entertaining thoughts of having Keitel removed from the council.

"I quite agree with you that anything we could construct to reflect the mideon's power back upon him would be quite useless. What I am suggesting is that we create our own Alucard that would in every conceivable way be his superior." Keital stated as though he was reciting a prepared speech to a group of reporters.

"Impossible! While it is true that our scientists have made significant progress in developing new and more powerful FREAK chips none of them are considered potent enough to bring a test subject even close to Alucard's level." Weichs stated as though he knew what he was talking about, "Lieutenant Rip Van Winkle was our one chance to enlist a vampire to our cause that could match Hellsing's pet mideon and she failed miserably."

"I never suggested that we use our advances in occult science to create a nosferatu more powerful than Alucard. Indeed our scientists are likely decades away from creating a chip that will achieve the desired results." Keitel said as though he were speaking to a child, "I instead propose to use sorcery to gain the soldier we require and thanks to our intelligence agents in North America I have come across the perfect type of magic for this project."

With that Keitel got up from his seat and moved to the main double doors. This puzzled quite a few of his compatriots on the council and some of them were minutes away from throwing composure and decorum out the window. However Keitel was unaffected by this as he opened the door and indicated to someone waiting outside to come in. As he stepped to the side to allow his guest in the whispering and confusion in the room only escalated as it was unheard of to allow an outsider this far past their defenses. Only after thorough background searches and years of diligent service to their cause were even the highest ranking officers allowed to stand in the presence of the ruling council. Still most of the council members with a dislike for Keitel were willing to wait a few more minutes before acting so as to gain just enough rope to hang their enemy for good. When the councilman's guest entered the room he immediately went under appraisal by each member both in terms of his potential usefulness as well as his actual competency. He was roughly in his mid to late forties judging from the wrinkles on his face possessing black hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in a rather casually worn dress shirt and tanned pants with expensive looking shoes. However it was a sparkle in his eyes that made some of them question whether he could be trusted for many of them recognized the look in his eyes as that of a trickster and a mischief mad man. While some of them were quite useful in distracting one's enemies they also inevitably turned out to be more trouble than they were worth. Keitel should know this fact as well which meant either he had a measure for keeping his sorcerer in check or he had lost all reason sometime during the past few months.

"My fellow council members may I present Mr. Ethan Rayne." Keitel said with confidence ten times higher than it had been before.

At that point most of the council members obviously sided with the latter possibility rather than the former.

Sunnydale, One Week Later, 3:00p.m 

_Well that period of pride lasted long!_ Xander thought as he walked off the school grounds alone.

It had been almost a week since his one shining moment of saving not only his friends but also the rest of the world by stopping Jack O'Toole from blowing up the High School. It had been a real pick-me-up for him to find out that even without the support of the rest of the gang he had been able to stop some baddies from ending the world. True they didn't really have any powers and most of them were falling apart at the seams but it had still counted for something as far as he was concerned. Therefore he was smiling for three days straight before his life reverted back to the way it had been before he had shown his worth and he had to say it was rather pitiful. His friends were still leery of letting him get in on any of the slayage in town and the most times the only way he could get involved was to show up in the middle of things so they couldn't push him out. True they generally chewed him out for getting in their way or distracting them long enough to let some demon they were trying to kill get away but it didn't bother him. Much that is. However today it was a particular sore point for him because it was beginning to affect his non-slaying friendship with them as well. Now whenever he tried to have a decent conversation with them either Buffy or Faith would inevitably bring up one of his recent attempts to get involved again with the Scooby gang. This would result in them either making fun of his honest effort to prove worth to the team or

complaining about how he was more of a hindering factor than a helping one in their night time activities. This of course left sizeable dents in his newfound self-respect and pride and that led him to where he was right now. On his way home to try and tolerate yet another night in his basement room hoping that his parents got drunk enough before supper that they wouldn't bother him until tomorrow morning.

It had been bad enough before Buffy had come to town and revealed to him the truth about this world but at least he still had Willow and Jessie to lean on when he was feeling down. Jessie had been like a brother to him and like all brothers they were both willing to do pretty much anything to help each other out. As for Willow she was close enough to be family. Spending time with them helped take the majority of the sting of his home life away and actually give him some good memories. When Buffy Summers had come to town it had been a time of rebirth but like all rebirth happiness was dealt out with an equal portion of pain. On the plus side he received a new hero and a cause he could believe in which was more than he had possessed beforehand. However it had also cost him the young man who had been a brother to him in Jessie. From there though it had been one crazy thing after another but a life that did a fair impression of a roller coaster was better than a dull one likely to end in the obituary section of the school newspaper. However he was beginning to believe that the stronger and more dangerous the big bads got the less and less likely the gang was going to tolerate him being around. After all they would be focusing on the members of the team that would be able to bring something substantial to the table rather than a hanger on who had a hard enough time dealing with newbie vamps.

_Not that any of them have bothered to try and change things! _Xander thought bitterly as he recalled that no one had bothered in the past two and a half years to help him improve his fighting skills.

It was just common sense that if you see a friend who is deficient in some area you at least try to help them out in some way. You don't just leave them to improve on their own and then make fun of them when they don't meet your standards. Still his 'better half' as he liked to call it told him that they had their own lives and their own problems just like him and couldn't shove all that to the side to focus on him. Still a little hand-to-hand training from Giles or a little more teaching in how to use a sword properly wouldn't have killed them. In any case though it was time to head home and get some sleep before heading out later tonight to see if he could 'lend a hand' to his friends.

Across the Street, Hidden in the Shadows, Same Time 

"That is the specimen you want us to acquire." asked the man in plain looking civilian clothes.

However if one took a moment to see beneath the surface it was obvious that this man was no civilian. His bearing, his fit physique and his eyes told a different story entirely. However even a military trained officer wouldn't be able to discern everything about the man's true nature using his eyes and ears alone. For this man of mystery had abilities known only to his superiors and his victims with the latter dying before they could speak more than a word. It was those hidden qualities that made him the perfect operative for this mission. The other man standing a few feet to his right was merely there to provide intelligence about the town and the players of the game that lived there. It was true that the majority of this other man's assignment wouldn't start until all the components were gathered and the final location secured but he had decided that he would see to the high school student's acquisition personally. Whether that was because he wanted to be there when his old enemy discovered her friend was missing or whether he wanted to be the one to drop them a hint himself he wasn't sure at the moment. He knew that his employers wouldn't mind since the resources of the organization would vastly outstrip anything his enemy could muster. Still it was something to consider over the next few hours.

"Yes. He bears a close enough resemblance to the end result your people desire to enhance the effects of the spell to significant degree." The second man to the right of the first replied, "Add to that his ties to the Hellmouth and I imagine the transition will be significantly smoother than a randomly chosen test subject from the civilian population or from your squad. Besides I have an old 'friend' living here who is quite close to this boy. It will be interesting to see how he reacts."

"This 'friend' won't become a problem to the organization will he?" the mystery man asked with implied punishment in his voice.

"When he was in his prime? Perhaps. Now he's just a librarian moonlighting as Merlin to a bottle blonde bimbo." Ethan Rayne replied with a derisive tone attached to 'Ripper's' current state, "The most he'll probably do is clean his glasses into oblivion and stutter for the next three days. Now I suggest you signal your men to get into position as I believe our boy will be reaching the ambush point quite soon."

_**Just Exiting the School, Thirty Seconds Before**_

_I hope Xander is alright._ Willow thought to herself as he let go of the front door to the high school.

It had been an upsetting line of thought that had popped up more and more over the course of the last two weeks or so and now she was beginning to wonder if perhaps she might have made a mistake. It had been about then that Buffy had started to make noises about keeping her oldest friend out of the fighting portion of the Scooby gang. The Slayer had said that while he might be their friend he didn't really have anything to contribute to the team in a fight and often only got hurt trying to help. However as the debate evolved both the blonde Slayer and the new one, Faith, began to see Xander Harris as an obstacle in their way or a ball and chain holding them back in a fight. Like most Slayers in history they didn't like the very concept of restraints and got rid of them when they could only tolerating them when they had to. In this case Xander was a restraint that they both could and wanted to get rid of and only their feelings of friendship towards him kept them from ousting him from the group entirely. She had gone alone with them because she genuinely didn't want to see her 'since-pre-school' friend hurt or even killed throwing himself into trouble like he often did. Buffy, Faith, Giles and her had skills and abilities to protect themselves during patrols or fights with the latest super demon threat. Xander wasn't any more skilled then any other high school boy living in a small Californian town and against demons that wasn't enough. She had tried to persuade both Giles and Buffy to maybe teach Xander some fighting moves to make him more useful but neither of them could be bothered to spare the time. Giles' reasons were somewhat acceptable given that the demands of being both the high school librarian as well as Buffy's Watcher didn't leave the veteran much time to spare for himself much less another person. He had to keep the library organized and stocked with all the necessary books for the student population while at the same time finding convenient nooks and crannies for the demonic oriented books they used in their research sessions. It was also he that did most of the research when a new threat came to town even though she tried to help where and when she could.

_Still Giles knows way more old languages than I do and probably has half the reference books committed to memory._ She thought to herself as she walked past the wall surrounding the school itself.

It was then that she spotted someone she had hoped she'd never see again and someone who she knew Giles would want to know about immediately. Turning right on the intersection to her own right was none other than the chaos mage Ethan Rayne plus one unknown man whom she presumed was also a chaos mage like Rayne was. Which meant that they were in town to cause trouble. That could mean anything from a repeat of that Halloween thing or the Band Candy thing where the adults turned into teenagers. She was just about to go back into the school and tell Giles when she took a moment to take in what direction the two chaos mages were going in and wonder why. Ethan had to know that it was dangerous walking around so close to the high school where any of the gang or Giles himself could see him. He usually preferred to avoid any situation that put him in unnecessary danger or risk until he was sure he was holding all the right cards. That likely meant that either he already had what he was after or was going after it now and knew that even if he had been spotted that neither Giles nor the Slayers would be able to stop him in time. Her mind whirred through the various possibilities but it was only when her thoughts of her problems with Xander and the ones that came after spotting Ethan collided that she discovered the truth.

_He's after Xander!_ Willow thought as a pit of fear began to grow inside of her, _But why!_

She didn't bother trying to think things through as she began to follow the two men as carefully and as silently as she could. The rational, intellectual, part of her knew she should go back and get the others but her heart was in control at the moment and all it cared about was saving Xander. She knew or at least believed wholeheartedly that if she went back to get Buffy and the others it would be too late when they arrived to where ever they planned on attacking Xander. His only hope was for her to trail them from a safe distance and then cause a big enough distraction right before the fun started to help him escape. What that distraction would wind up being she didn't quite know as she was pretty sure attacking them physically would only get both her and Xander killed. That left magic and while she had been making progress in that area she was far from being the female Merlin. Sure she could levitate a pencil and do some intermediate spells but most of that took time to set up. She wasn't sure what she could just pull out of her hat on the fly but she would think of something. She had to!

Otherwise.

Otherwise Xander might get hurt or even die.

Three and a Half Blocks Away, Ten Minutes Later 

_I've got a bad feeling about this._ Xander thought to himself as he looked about the empty street ahead of him.

For most of the walking he had been lost in his own mind, thinking about the past and the present, but about a minute ago he finally took stock of his surroundings. The entire street in every direction except the one he came from was deserted and to him that was a big honking sign something was amiss. The local elementary school got out about the same time as the high school which meant there should be kids on their way home and crossing guards at every crosswalk. However no matter how hard he looked for signs of life or people there was nothing. Looking into the windows that were close by he grew even more worried when he couldn't see anyone inside of the houses moving around. After all it was one thing to see nothing on the streets but he should have been able to catch something in the windows whether it be an active TV or someone on their couch. However no matter which window he looked into he could see nothing but empty rooms and that coupled with a healthy sense of Sunnydale paranoia told him he was in trouble. The question he needed to answer though was just how much trouble and who he had pissed off this time to get them to come after him.

Resuming his trot down the street he kept his senses sharp and tried to take in every bit of sensory information he could so he could have as much advance warning as possible. He was pretty sure that the 'act like nothing is wrong' strategy wasn't an option at the moment as they probably saw him looking around which meant that he had two choices. The first would be to simply continue down the street like normal and wait until he got to the ambush point where they wanted him. Since he knew that there was going to be an ambush they no longer had the element of surprise either. It would come down to a matter of numbers and weapons deciding who would come out on top. Depending on how much forethought these unknown people put into this they may or may not know everything about him. If they did they would know about the residual benefits he still retained from his possession by the hyena and the soldier. It wasn't much when compared to what he had when those two entities were in control but it did give him an edge most other teenage guys didn't. From the hyena he still retained slightly sharper senses than those enjoyed by the rest of humanity. From the solider he retained a basic grasp of tactics as well as some fairly comprehensive knowledge of modern weaponry. Nothing too high tech but enough that if it was currently used by the U.S military he knew both how to use it and protect himself from it. Not that retaining the bits and pieces of those entities was overly helpful in fighting the demonic in Sunnydale. Most demons shrugged off bullets like they were spitwads and any weapon more powerful than a shotgun was outside his ability to acquire. He knew there was a military base nearby but he had been lucky enough to get the rocket launcher out to deal with the judge. He doubted that he'd be able to get away with too much before even those slackers guarding the base would pick up on his activities. So in the end he had some abilities but there was really no way to make effective use of them.

_Still, if these guys don't know everything about me it might be enough to give me one good shot at getting out of this in one piece._ Xander thought while not taking his eyes off his surroundings.

Fortunately or unfortunately depending on your point of view he didn"t have long to wait before his unknown stalkers made their move. As soon as he reached the very next intersection he heard a sound and watched as three canisters about the size of soda cans flew threw the air in his direction. He didn't need his solider memories to recognize them though whether they contained knockout gas or tear gas was unknown. Moving in synch with his thoughts he moved as quickly as he could to get clear of the likely radius that the canisters were likely to cover. No sooner did he reach the spot where he thought he'd be safe from the gas than high caliber bullets bit up the street in front of him forcing him to halt his advance. Dropping his school bag to free up his flexibility more and give him a little more pep in his step he looked in the direction he figured the shots had come from. While it was true that the smart thing to do when you're being shot at was to seek cover he figured that if these guys wanted him dead they would have shot to kill rather than just keep him from getting away. Judging from how much pavement was torn up they could've made his head explode like a ripe melon if they had wanted. So at least for now he was certain that they wanted to take him alive which gave him an advantage. They would be pulling their punches whereas he would not and hopefully that would be enough to make up for the lack of sufficient firepower.

"So are you guys going to just take pot shots at me from the bushes or are you gonna come out and fight?" Xander said with a challenge in his voice hoping to draw them in where he could see them.

It didn't take more than three minutes before they emerged to accept his challenge but when he got a look at them he almost wished they had remained hidden. There were roughly fifteen of them but he got the impression from their lack of cautious movements that they might have back up waiting nearby. He didn't recognize the uniforms for the most part and the only thing that did stand out was the silver swastika medallion that hung around all of their necks. That either meant he was being ambushed by neo-nazis-wannabes or some other war mongering group that thought using the swastika for a symbol was a good idea. In any case it all came down to the same thing. He was in deep shit and the chances of him getting out of this in one piece were getting slimmer by the second. He needed three things if he expected to get out of this situation with all limbs attached and all vital organs in working condition. The first was a weapon, the second was a plan and the last was an advantage to make up for the difference in numbers. Looking around the immediate area he spotted what he presumed was a rake that had been left leaning up against the white fence by the owner of the house. Grabbing it by one end he pulled it in front of him and with a quick stomp of his right heel snapped the wood off where the metal part of the rake met the wooden pole. Now he had a makeshift spear with him that could also be used as a staff if necessary which would give him

greater reach while also giving him a kill option if he needed it.

_Now I need a plan for dealing with these guys._ , Xander thought as he tried to keep each and every single one of them in sight, _Oh man! I really should have paid more attention to Giles when he went on and on about strategies!_

The first objective he believed he would need to achieve if he hoped to survive this was to force them to attack him in small numbers rather than all at once. Against two or three men his own size he could manage without too much trouble. After all since they were all standing in the sunlight they weren't vampires so that meant only human level speed and strength. Given his experience in dealing with things roughly four to five times his own strength he was fairly certain that he could beat them. However whether or not he could beat all fifteen of them was another issue that had to be addressed. While he did indeed believe that he could defeat them in small groups he was uncertain as to whether or not he could defeat all fifteen of them without getting injured in some way himself. He tried for a moment to think up a way to get them to come at him in a way that would be beneficial to him but before anything sprang to mind they attacked. Wielding collapsible batons they charged him forcing him to frantically use his makeshift staff to block their attacks as fast as he could.

_There is no way these guys are human! _Xander thought as he found his opponents quickly reaching and in some cases exceeding speeds commonly found in newbie vampires.

Another troubling thing that he noticed was the fact that his enemies seemed to be both pulling their punches and using the least amount of force necessary to subdue him. That would imply that they were sent here to capture him or perhaps to test him for some other purpose he couldn't discern at the moment. Not that he had a whole lot of time to think or anything as one of his attackers hit is staff so hard it broke into two pieces. Lashing out with a kick or two to give himself some breathing space he adjusted his grip on the two pieces until it looked as though he had two batons of his own. He had seen martial artists with weapons like his in countless movies, two sticks or rods not much bigger than drum sticks, and seen them beat the enemies senseless with lightning fast moves. While he doubted he'd be able to even imitate the speed or skill he had seen in the movies it did make him move flexible both offensively and defensively. Looking around he decided it was time to at least try to go on the offensive even if it required him to take some hits. If it was true that they were trying to capture him then at least the chances were good that they also wanted him in fairly good condition. By that line of reasoning they would be holding back most of

their strength so that while their blows would hurt his history of being pummeled by vampires should allow him to continue fighting. That fact unfortunately would have to do as the advantage he had been hoping for but even for him that was pitiful.

_Oh well, like the Klingons like to say all the time, maybe today is a good day to die!_ Xander thought and with all the courage, strength and speed he could muster he charged the closest enemy intent on a deke and stab move to the guy's right side above the hip bone.

He took all of two steps before he felt a sharp pain in his left butt cheek and a suddenly overpowering urge to sleep. Reaching back with his waning strength he felt something pencil shaped sticking out where he had felt the pain and when he pulled it out to look at it his mind numbly recognized what it was.

"N-n-no f-fair!" was all he could slur out before his eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he fell face first to the ground.

Ethan's Perspective, One Minute Later 

"Why did you use the tranquilizer dart?" the man only known to Rayne as Leiutenant Schneider as the British Chaos Mage checked the boy for a pulse.

"Because if I hadn't your men would likely have beaten the fool to a bloody pulp." Ethan replied with a bit of sarcasm before sighing with relief as he felt a strong pulse coming from the Harris boy, "The lad's going to need all of his strength if he's going to survive the change so broken bones or serious blood loss must be avoided."

"My men are professionals Mr. Rayne. The boy wouldn't have sustained any serious injuries." Schneider stated with no sign of anger or annoyance at the Brit's comment evident.

"Still it is probably for the best that we wrap this up quickly. The last thing we need is to run into any of Harris' chums before we get out of town." Rayne said as he motioned to two of the soldiers to pick the young man up and prepare him for transport.

"Perhaps," Schneider said as he nodded to the remaining troops to likely begin removal of suspicious evidence and the bodies of the local residents.

Even a chaos mage like Rayne had to shiver a bit at how casually these soldiers belonging to the Millennium group had ruthlessly killed every person living in the immediate area with not so much as a drop of blood visible from the sidewalks. Inside the houses had been another matter all together as the soldiers had used some of the bloodiest and quite frankly stomach turning methods to kill the inhabitants he had ever seen. After he had witnessed one family killed in those sorts of ways he had decided to occupy his thoughts on one of the van rentals reviewing the actual spell casting he would have to do for these people. The only reason he had come with them for the actual acquisition of the boy was to point Harris out to them in person and to leave a few panic inducing hints for ol' Ripper to find when he got home. That thought alone was enough to banish the more disturbing images from his mind as he could just picture the frantic state Rupert would slip into once he found out one of his charges had been abducted by him. He imagined the local demon population would be in for quite a messy time as both Ripper and the Slayers tore up the town looking for their 'friend'. However he had been certain to treat each 'clue' he left behind with several nullification spells which would render any locator or tracing spells useless.

"XANDER! GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Came an afraid but also furious female voice from the direction the boy had come from.

Looking over to where the voice was coming from it took Rayne less than a minute to recognize the redhead. Muttering a curse at his misfortune he decided he better take care of the girl before one of the soldiers did and gave Rupert even more incentive to find him. Centering himself he spoke a quick incantation and thrust his right hand towards the girl intending to send her flying into the air and hard enough down to the street to render her unconscious. Unfortunately the girl was apparently taking lessons from Ripper as she managed at the last minute to deflect the spell off to the side so that a mailbox wound up going through one house's front window. This was something of a surprise given her age but he had no time to think on it further as she sent a fairly passable imitation of the spell he had just used right back at him. Fortunately his years of experience and his own reserves of personal magic made it easy to flick the attack aside causing yet another mailbox to suddenly find itself on someone's couch. Deciding to up the ante a bit he decided to try something to give the little girl incentive to turn tail and run back to her friends for help. By the time they got here both his comrades and Harris would be long gone which would hopefully make Mr. Keital happy. Looking over at the broken shards of glass from one of the broken windows he used his will to lift them off the ground and with a suddenness that would give most people whiplash sent them at the girl with a sudden jerk of his head. A satisfied smile appeared on his face as he saw the shards of glass cut into the redhead. The slip of a girl had had enough sense to use her arms to shield her body from serious harm of the life threatening sense. Hopefully the blood and sharp stabs of pain would be enough to scare her enough to get her to leave the area. However as she lowered her arms from in front of her body he received a clear view of her eyes and wondered just who or what she really was.

In the place of the girlish loving eyes he had expected to see were eyes with irises a shade of green that verged on pure black. It was a classic sign of a magic user tapping deeply into their own power reserves and sometimes the world around them for a massive spell. Most times the caster had to have been 'in the business' for at least a decade before they were capable of this but as he carefully observed her mouth and hands he had a sneaking suspicion that Ripper had found himself a prodigy. Deciding that the time for kid gloves had just ended he tapped more into his own magic as well as a little of the Hellmouth before firing a rapid succession of fireballs from his mouth. The Rosenberg girl managed to erect a shield but it was clear both to his eyes and to his own senses that it was barely holding. Winding up one more time he sent a fireball the size of a beach ball at her shattering her shield and sending her crashing to the ground. Aside from the force of the blow she was relatively unharmed with the exception of slightly smoking clothes so he wasn't too worried about her dying. The drain from using so much magic and his own attacks should be enough to keep her down so that he and the soldiers from the Millennium group to get away.

"An impressive duel Mr. Rayne." Schneider said with something approaching interest in his voice.

"Indeed. The last time I saw that girl she was barely strong enough to do beginner spells." Ethan said as his own fatigue began to set in, "Still she should be unconscious long enough for us to get underway. Shall we be off?"

"In a moment." Schneider replied before turning to a subordinate and saying something in German that Ethan didn't quite catch.

However as Schneider's gaze came to a rest on the young girl Rayne had a distinct feeling that the redhead had made a fatal error in revealing her talents in front of this man.

Five Hours Later, Sunnydale General Hospital, Willow's Room 

As her senses began to return to her one of the first things that she noticed as the unfamiliar sheets and covers that were draped over her. They weren't the warm and comfortable ones she usually had on her bed because the sheets on her bed were smooth and comfortable. The ones currently keeping her warm were itchy and in her opinion someone had used too much starch when they had last cleaned them because they were rather rigid. At first she thought that maybe her mother was going through a cleanliness phase and was subjecting her once comfortable sheets with some new product that guaranteed to kill all germs and make the fabric last longer. Her Mom was like that and she had learned to accept it more or less. Still when she went downstairs she was going to remind her Mom that it was not right to make changes to her room without her permission. After all she was a growing teenage girl and she needed her own private space as well as the freedom to do what she wanted with it. Her mother had reluctantly agreed to her demands concerning her room under the condition that she was to have no posters of boys on her walls and no boy was to be in her room after supper. It was as this thought passed through her that she could hear a muffled series of sounds that seemed to be coming from outside her room. She hoped that her Dad wasn't having some of his friends over for a morning conference again. She loved her Dad and respected the work he did but there was only so much 'here is my genius little girl' talk that she could take. As the noises became less muffled she realized that there were metallic sounds mixed in with the voices as well as something that sounded like a man saying something over an announce system.

_We don't have an announce system in our house._ Willow thought with some confusion as she approached full consciousness, _I hope this isn't that dream where you wake up in the front of the classroom in your underwear because even though it isn't one of my top fears it'd still be not of the fun._

Opening her eyes she discovered that she wasn't in her bed at home but was in one of those uncomfortable hospital beds probably wearing one of those uncomfortable hospital gowns that just had to have been designed by a complete pervert. Why else would the back be left purposefully open if not to let someone scope out your ass' Not that she minded the few times when Xander had been in the hospital and she had come to visit but it was another thing when it would be her butt people would be leering at.

"Willow! You're awake!" exclaimed a familiar voice before she was embraced with a tight hug from a certain blonde Slayer.

"Buffy? Air becoming an issue!" Willow said as she gently tried to coax her best friend into breaking the hug up.

"Oh sorry!" Buffy said as she quickly released her friend and sat back down in the chair she had been sitting on since she had arrived in the room, "I'm just glad you're alright. What happened?"

Willow was prevented from answering right away as the door to her room opened up to admit one flustered and worried Rupert Giles who looked like someone had totally mangled his filing system in the library.

"I've just gotten off the phone with your parents and they said that they will catch the first flight back later tonight." Giles stated as he picked up a chair from another area of the room and sat down on it next to Buffy, "Before they return though it will be important to come up with a plausible cover story for your being admitted here. Can you explain what exactly happened? It might provide some inspiration in terms of creating a cover for you when your parents arrive."

"Well I was just leaving school and thought I would try and catch up with Xander to try and cheer him up a little. He's been looking pretty down since we asked him to stay out of the slaying and I don't like it when he's like that." Willow replied as she replied honestly to the Watcher"s request, "That's when I spotted that Ethan guy from Halloween heading down the same street Xander always takes when he walks home."

This causes both the Slayer and the Watcher to go rigid at the thought of the chaos mage being both back in town and being interested in their Xander-shaped friend.

"I know I probably should have gone back to get you guys but I was afraid by the time we caught up to them they'd already have Xander!" , Willow stated with growing concern before memories of her last few minutes of consciousness before waking up in the hospital hit her, "OH MY GOD! They have Xander!"

"What?" Buffy exclaimed as the panicky feelings from her best friend were mimicked in her.

"I caught up to them across from Mrs. Robinson's house but Xander was out cold and surrounded by these soldier guys!" , Willow replied as though they had asked her a real question rather than a rhetorical one, "I tried to save him but Ethan was just too strong and now Xander is .. is .. !"

"I'm sure Xander is fine Willow. If Ethan wanted to kill Xander he would have done so." Giles said reassuringly as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "That must mean that they want him for something which means we have some time. Now can you tell me anything about the soldiers that were with Ethan? Anything that might help us discover who they are and where they come from?"

"Well they were wearing your standard solider get-ups with the flak jackets and camouflage pants." Willow replied with disappointment before she remembered something that caused her eyes to light up with hope, "OH! Oh! They all had this silver medallion around their necks! The medallions had swastikas engraved on them! There can't be too many militia groups with medallions like that right?"

Buffy seemed to agree with her line of thinking and told her with that piece of information they'd get Xander back in no time. Giles however had gotten quite pale and was currently cleaning his glasses with unusual energy before he got out of his seat and said that he had to make an important call. Then without sticking around to answer any questions he left her room and disappeared leaving an injured Wicca and a blonde Slayer wondering what the hell had gotten into their mentor's head.

Giles" Apartment, One Hour Later 

"Come on Wally! Pick up!" Giles said to himself as he listened to the sounds coming from his phone indicating that it was trying to make a connection to another phone somewhere else.

He had almost fainted dead away in Willows room when she had described the medallion that had been worn by the soldiers who had abducted Xander. It was a medallion that had been worn by truly evil individuals fifty years ago and he had heard rumors from various contacts in Great Britain that it was being worn again by shady figures. Whispers of strange creatures and attempts at merging science and sorcery into something completely new and dark had reached him. He knew that there was more going on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean than he was being told but even the small crumbs he was able to acquire were enough to worry him. He had even heard that his friend's employer had been framed for some crime against the Queen a year or two ago but had since been freed both due to the true culprit being caught and some emergency. In any case it was a memory of a conversation he had had with Wally about some business the man had been involved with during World War two that prompted this call. During Hitler's reign of terror over Europe it had been a little known fact that he was not above looking into various areas of the supernatural and demonic for aid in his campaign. To better serve the Reich an organization was formed specifically to devise new and powerful ways to turn the supernatural and demonic into tools of war and conquest. Nothing was taboo to the Nazi doctors that experimented on demon and human alike in order to create something so powerful and unnatural that it would decimate the allied forces.

It was called the Millennium group.

It was called that because it had been intended to last a thousand years but in the end due to secret forces from Britain it had been believed that all the members had been slain and their research destroyed. At least that is what Wally had told him during that conversation fifteen years ago and he had no reason to doubt what he had been told. If Willow's description of the men who had abducted Xander was accurate than the lad was in a world of trouble and would need a special sort of help that the 'Scoobies' could not provide.

He was about to hang up when someone on the other end of the line finally picked up their receiver and said "Hellsing Manor, how can I help you?"

"Wally?" Giles asked with some uncertainty as the voice did for the most part sound like his old friend but also contained some elements that the Watcher didn't recognize.

"Rupert? Well this is a rather pleasant surprise." Wally said in a genuinely happy tone, "It has been, what, nearly five years since we last spoke?"

"Indeed it has. I believe it was during the joint meeting between our respective .. em .. employers." Giles replied temporarily allowing himself to enjoy the memories of that event before turning to the more serious matter at hand, "However I am afraid I did not call you to talk about old times my friend. I'm afraid I need the sort of help that only you and your employer can provide."

"What has happened?" Wally asked in a serious business-like tone that told Giles he knew that something was wrong.

"Earlier today a friend of the Slayer I am assigned to was attacked and abducted by a former friend of mine by the name of Ethan Rayne and a group of soldiers." Giles replied as he drew on only the most important parts of Willows account of the event, "While on the surface this may seem outside of your group's jurisdiction I assure you it is not. Each of the soldiers wore a silver medallion around their necks with a swastika engraved on it. I don't think I need to tell you what that implies about them."

"Oh dear." He heard Wally mutter and like all men from Great Britain he knew that was the equivalent of 'oh shit' in American slang.

"Yes. It happened less than seven hours ago here in Sunnydale." Giles said trying to get his friend past his shock and onto something more productive, "I know that your group is likely busy with their own problems but I would consider it a personal favor if you could at the very least if you could check with your sources and get back to me. Even a simple list of locations where they may have taken him would be appreciated."

"I cannot promise you anything Rupert. However I will bring this to the attention of my superior and try to get you clearance for the necessary information. I owe you that much." Wally replied with his voice denoting how difficult it would be to bend the rules on Giles' account.

"Thank you old friend." Giles said with some relief dispelling a portion of the anxiety in his soul.

"Think nothing of it. Goodbye." Wally replied and with that the phone call was terminated leaving the Watcher Rupert Giles to his own devices.

With his primary source tapped the man once called Ripper decided to make calls to some of his lesser contacts on the off chance that they had something he could use. He just hoped that something useful could be learned before too long. Xander while annoying at times was also a brave young man who he was proud to have met and even grateful that the teen had chosen to aid his Slayer in her mission. He just hoped that the lad's perchance of getting in over his head hadn't struck again because this time there might be nothing anyone could do to save him.

_**London, England, Hellsing Manor,**_

_**The Office of Sir Integra Fairbrook Windgates Hellsing**_

Knock, Knock

"Enter." Came the voice of Walter Donnleaz's employer as she put down the report she had been reading about a recent rash of FREAK chipped vampire attacks.

Looking at the door out of courtesy to her butler and longtime friend she was slightly concerned at the look of seriousness on his face. While the spectacle-wearing Englishman was generally serious all of the time when on duty he always behaved with a certain 'familiarity' when in her presence. One might see it as the same sort of familiarity one might expect from family and while not related by blood she supposed that he was family to her in all ways except blood. Therefore she knew his mannerisms as well as other habits that told her of his emotional state in ways no one else would notice. Right now while Walter was indeed concerned about something it wasn't quite at the same level as it had been during the Incognito affair. During that time she could tell that he had been seriously worried about her personal safety as well as the well being of the Hellsing Organization as well. It had been a trying time and she was still to this day angry that she had not been observant enough to detect the traitor amongst the members of the Round Table. It was a matter of personal pride to her that she was among the most skilled and observant people in all of Great Britain who were loyal to Queen and country. The fact that the man had been tried and executed did little to dispel the fact that somehow the Millennium group had managed to implant a mole or corrupted one of colleagues.

In any case she and the rest of the Hellsing Organization had more than managed to get a measure of revenge against the remnant of Hitler's Third Reich during a joint operation with the Vatican's Iscariot division in South America. While it bothered her to no end to be forced to work with those pompous Catholics she had reluctantly agreed that the job had been too big for her Organization to handle alone. It had also had the side benefit of mending the peace between the two groups which while still volatile was still better than what had existed before. Paladin Alexander Anderson still occasionally dueled with Agent Alucard from time to time when their respective missions intertwined but both institutions simply accepted the fact that those two would never like one another.

Now with the Millennium group apparently shattered and only a few survivors still making trouble worldwide business in the Hellsing Organization was beginning to return to normal. The number of FREAK chipped vampires in Britain were dwindling and missions were returning to the more natural, if one could call those aberrations natural, vampire breeds. This unfortunately had Alucard getting bored which meant he would spend less time hunting down the undead and more time trying to drive her insane in various ways. Fortunately a few silver nitrate bullets and some sincere threats concerning his current level of freedom were usually enough to grant her a few days respite from his senile sense of humor. However if the look on her butler's face was any indication she might now have another means of keeping the Hellsing family weapon from annoying her.

"What is it Walter?" she asked in her normal 'ice queen' voice.

"I was just contacted by an old friend of mine and what he related to me was potentially troubling." Walter replied with his words only confirming his mental state in her mind.

"How so?" she asked with a raised eyebrow given that for Walter to call something 'potentially troubling' it truly needed to be something serious.

"A little under seven hours ago a young acquaintance of his was attacked by a group of soldiers and a man by the name of Ethan Rayne." Walter replied as he gave her a condensed version of the conversation, "While this in and of itself is odd considering the young man is of no real importance either politically or financially each of the soldiers had a silver medallion around their necks with a swastika engraved on each of them."

This caused her to almost lose her trademark calm demeanor as she connected the dots as it were and realized what organization the group had to belong to. However when her mind began to try and determine why the Millennium organization would be interested in an unknown American she came up blank. Thus she looked to her butler and friend Walter and gave him a look that said "Could you elaborate?" in a crystal clear manner.

"The friend I spoke of is Rupert Giles, a member of the Watcher's Council, who is the Watcher assigned to the current Slayer in the town of Sunnydale, California." Walter said in response to her non-verbal request for more information, "The young man in question is one Alexander Harris, a friend of the current Slayer, who has been aiding Ms. Summers since her arrival at the Hellmouth. As for why the Millennium group is interested enough in Mr. Harris to abduct him in broad daylight I am afraid I haven't the foggiest."

Integra was forced to side with her friend on that matter because unless Mr. Harris had some secret to him that her organization was not privy to it made no sense for the members of the Millennium group to order his abduction much less in broad daylight. Usually they were much more covert in their operations preferring to operate under the cover of night to reduce the number of witnesses and traceable evidence. Add to that the fact that anyone worthy of abduction by the Nazi remnant usually already had a file here at the Hellsing Organization and you had something of a mystery. A mystery that she knew they had to solve quickly if they were to thwart whatever plans the remaining members of the Millennium group had in motion.

"Begin a full background check on Mr. Harris as well as all his known relatives and deceased ancestors. Go back five hundred years if you must." , Integra commanded with complete authority, "If this Alexander Harris has not done anything of note concerning the supernatural or demonic then perhaps a member of his family line has. Contact our informants in other intelligence organizations to see if there has been any suspicious activity by known supporters of the Millennium group."

"As you command Sir Integra." Walter said and without further words left the room to obey her orders.

Once the door clicked shut she returned to her own musings about what this latest development could mean as well as examine some disturbing implications that were becoming known in her mind. When the Millennium group's base in Brazil had been discovered it had been believed by both her forces and those of the Iscariot that it was indeed their main base of operations. The sheer amount of resources dedicated to both its secrecy and its operations were enough of an indicator of that but when several valuable members of the Millennium group revealed themselves during the course of the battle the indication turned to confirmation. Thus when all the fighting had finished it had been believed that any encounters with Millennium group members from this point onward would be merely annoying underlings attempting to capitalize on their deaths of their superiors. In short it was expected that all that would be needed for the foreseeable future was what the Americans would call a mop up operation. Having no evidence to indicate something to the contrary she had agreed with this appraisal of the situation and had not given the remnants of the Millennium group more than a passing thought since then. With this newest development though she began to wonder if in fact they had been mistaken in their belief that the base they had destroyed had been the main one.

_If it was the main base then the remnants elsewhere in the world should still be in too much disarray to perform an operation like this coherently._ she thought to herself as she stood to look out the window behind her desk, _They should still be recovering from the assault in South America. If however it was not their main base then I have severely underestimated them. Damn!_

"It seems things will finally get more interesting around here Master," came the voice of the number one cause of her bouts of increased stress and blood pressure.

Looking towards the source of the voice she watched as Agent Alucard, the No Life King and true nosferatu, seemed to flow outwards from the wall before finally separating from it with nothing more than a ripple to show where he had come from. It was his usual entrance as far as she was concerned. He never liked doing the expected thing or the normal thing but rather preferred to keep both ally and enemy guessing as to how he would appear before them next. To the enemies of the Hellsing Organization it was a tactic that inspired fear in their hearts and only convinced them further that Alucard was not your average vampire. For her it was just plain irritating and she was sure that he reserved his best 'unpredictability material' for her just to see if he could make a crack in her emotionless façade. It was in a way a contest they had going on between the two of them and so far she was winning as she had managed to keep her emotional control despite some fairly impressive attempts on Alucard's part.

"You may want to restrain your enthusiasm Alucard. We still do not know what the Millennium soldiers want with Mr. Harris much less how it could affect the current state of things." Integra said to her weapon with a reprimand mixed therein, "However if you insist on having something to keep you busy you can pay a visit to some of our more demonic sources of information to see if they have anything interesting to say."

"As you command, my Master." Alucard stated as he faded from sight with bone chilling laugh that spoke of possible insanity.

Sir Integra knew that Alucard would have no trouble extracting information from the demons given his reputation but she did hope he was discreet in interrogating the more stubborn ones. Otherwise the current Prime Minister and perhaps her Majesty herself would be calling her an hour later complaining about the collateral damage that needed taking care of by them. It didn't require her to reroute valuable Hellsing manpower to the repair and reconstruction efforts but it did 'require' her to make a sizeable monetary contribution. In short she sent up a silent prayer that whoever this Alexander Harris was that he was important enough to be worth this much effort or at the very least that it would hurt the Millennium group enough in the long run.


	2. The Birth of the No Life Prince

Unknown Field, Eastern Wallachia, One Day Later, 11:30p.m 

"Are all the items and ingredients I asked for here?" Ethan Rayne asked as he exited the Hummer that his babysitter from the Millennium Group had picked him up in.

"Yes. Everything that you mentioned during the briefing has been acquired although some of the more exotic items cost my forces considerably in manpower." Schneider replied as he took in the environment around him, "Though I fail to understand why you insisted on the items with such attention to detail. A cape is a cape no matter where it comes from."

It had been like this between them almost since Keitel had partnered them together and Ethan Rayne was beginning to get a little sick of it. So he decided to vent some of his annoyance and damn the consequences no matter what they turned out to be.

"Look Schneider! What we are attempting to do is turn a perfectly ordinary human being into a perfect copy of the NO LIFE KING!" Ethan stated only raising his voice with the last three words, "That is no small feat even under the most favorable of conditions. Also the consequences to all of us if we screw up will be dire indeed so we bloody well better get it right the first time! Besides which the spell I'll be casting is dangerous enough by itself without having to perform it on this tainted piece of land."

Indeed they were in a land that had been tainted with the blood of hundreds of soldiers had been spilt as they were impaled upon pikes and which were then planted vertically in the ground to inspire fear in their comrades. Now centuries later the land was still a place where no local inhabitant went after nightfall and even during the day they were reluctant to pass this way for anything less than a life-or-death situation. However the reason why they were there was for a far darker reason then the world at large could conceive of even with that hack novel Stoker came up with. It had been under the orders of one Vlad Tepes that the invading soldiers were impaled on those pikes for it was he who led the armies of Wallachia to repel the trespassing army. However sometime between the day that he left his home and the day he returned he had been changed from a normal, albeit exceptional, human being to the first ever True Nosfuratu. However the particulars of how Vlad Tepes became the No Life King remained a mystery to this very day. No one knows the specifics about how he was changed or what was involved. All that could be said for certain was that prior to him there had been no official record of any demonic creature that matched the present definition of True Nosfuratu. Oh sure there were vampires around and there had been for millennia but what few people outside official demon/vampire hunting institutions knew was that there were various different breeds of vampire. There were the Kindred who existed in clans that maintained a masquerade of normality. There were a few others but on the whole most breeds of vampire saw the value of keeping the existence of their kind myth rather than causing it to become fact. It was only those with the ridged foreheads that were too stupid or to arrogant to use less conspicuous methods of sating their thirst.

In any case because of the unusual method of Vlad Tepes' transformation and the reputation of this area it was the going theory of his that this land was tainted by the energy or force that created the No Life King. While it was somewhat possible that the energy would have dissipated by now he seriously doubted it considering the vampire it gave birth to. Most likely even now the essence of what had given birth to Alucard of the Hellsing Organization was still here and it would be a crucial element to the spell's success. However to hedge his bets he made sure that there were numerous other items connected to the No Life King to further enhance the impact the spell would have on the Harris boy. With a little luck and a little judicious modifications to the spell he cast on that fateful Halloween night in Sunnydale he would achieve the desired results that the Millennium group had hired him for in the first place.

Striding through the tall grass he eventually came upon the area that had been cleared away of vegetation for the spell. A large alter was placed in the center of the area made of blackest rock which no one would ever find on the periodic table. Around the black alter were an assortment of symbols and diagrams all indicating that the stone was the focal point of their power and where the results of using them would appear. A few symbols were actually half on and half off the alter which was of course necessary as they would be useless unless they were in direct contact with the medium/conduit chosen for this spell. The symbols expanded out to almost the very edge of the cleared area and were so intricate and complicated that the Brit was worried for a moment that those who had been hired to draw them had made a mistake. However after careful examination of each symbol and drawing he found that they were all done exactly as he had specified and not one millimeter out of place anywhere. Apparently they were very good at their respective jobs. Either that or someone had made it very clear to them what would happen if they screwed up in any way, shape or form. He personally bet on the latter being the case rather than the former.

On the upper right edge of the clearing was a table on which sat the ingredients to be introduced at the start, during the middle and at the end of the spell. While some were fairly common and could be bought at any black magic merchant's shop others were quite rare and would have probably cost his employers a pretty pence if he didn't suspect that they had simply made their previous owner the last offer of his/her life. Hopefully they were of sufficient quality and potency to satisfy the various gods, goddess" and demons he was going to be invoking tonight. Otherwise the warning he had given Schneider would come true

and this region would likely feel the effects for centuries to come.

The one thing that seemed to be rather out of place for a ceremony was a large garage sized box a short distance away. While some would assume that the walls, ceiling and floor of this box were no more than half a foot thick they would be dead wrong. They were in fact so thick that there would be just enough room left inside for an average sized coffin. What was even more incredible than that was the fact that the entire object was laced with millions of dollars worth of silver along with various magical talismans embedded on the exterior of the box facing inwards. In short it was designed so that once inside not even the No Life King would be able to break free and if Ethan Rayne was successful tonight that is exactly what it would have to do. He just hoped it was enough or he would prefer to take his chances with the various demons, gods and goddesses he might piss off by botching this spell.

Once he finished examining the various ingredients of the spell he said "Alright let's get this show on the road. Bring the Harris boy and secure him to the alter."

While it was true that officially Schneider was the only one who had the authority to order them around a nod from their superior was all they required before following Rayne's order. The young resident of Sunnydale had been kept sedated for the trip here to ensure that he didn"t injure himself in any escape attempts or annoy one of his guards into 'convincing' him to shut up. While Ethan wasn't sure what effect the boy being injured would have on the spell as well as its outcome he preferred not to take chances. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed that someone had taken the time to dress the boy in the clothes he had asked to be acquired and added a few other touches to make sure he looked like the being he was going to be turned into. A black haired wig long enough to reach the boy's waist and blood red contact lenses placed in his eyes before being topped off with a set of fake fangs in his mouth. When those items were added to the blood red cape along with a dark gray poets shirt and pants that hadn't been worn since the late 1700s it made for a most convincing costume. With a little luck those items of clothing he was wearing would be the linchpin to the entire spell as they had been stolen directly from Alucard's Wallachian home. They were in all likelihood clothes he himself wore before he had been bound and enslaved to the Hellsing family. The remainder of the items and ingredients he had requested were mostly to enhance the hold the spell would have on the boy and make actual physical changes to his body. That was the major difference between this spell and the spell he cast during Halloween in Sunnydale. Back in Sunnydale the spell's effects were temporary with the victims' bodies in a constant state of magical flux so that none of the changes would be permanent. It would be like keeping water moving to keep it from freezing or keeping wet cement from drying by moving it about or something along those lines. In this case though the spell would actively be trying to change young Mr. Harris' very genetic make up and overall species as well as infuse him with dark

power few humans had ever experienced. Truth be told it would be quite a feather in his cap if he successfully managed to pull this off and the one hundred million pounds the Millennium group was paying him for this job was a nice as well.

As the final chain was securely attached to Xander Harris' body Ethan Rayne looked up at the night sky and decided that the time had come to begin. Walking over to the right side of the alter, careful not to disturb or smudge the drawings beneath his feet, he closed his eyes to mentally prepare himself for the task ahead. Once centered he asked for the first in the list of ingredients he had requested and it was passed to him at the end of a long pole arm with a vise like attachment at the end. It had been another of his conditions that once the spell began that no one but he was to enter the area covered by the symbols and diagrams. Any extra people without the requisite training for something like this would be the equivalent of someone tossing water balloons at the drawings on the ground during the spell. It would make the magic even more chaotic than it would already be and thus be beyond his ability to influence at all. Chaos magic by its very nature was a maelstrom of forces, a random combination of various elements and energies that defies description. However it is not beyond a mage's ability to influence the direction the chaos magic went or how it would affect its designated target. It was taxing of course but he was confident that he would be able to endure the strain of directing the magic long enough to complete the spell.

Opening the container he began to lightly pour the contents onto the boy's chest before beginning an outward spiral that eventually reached from the chin to just below the waist. Once the entire contents of the canister had been emptied he returned it to the vise attachment at the end of the pole arm. A few seconds later a bottle was in its grip for him to take and without pause or hesitation he took it. Pouring some of the crystal-like sand from the bottle he began to sprinkle it over the spiral he had made before in a way similar to sprinkling salt over ketchup you just put on your order of French fries. Once he was finished he took a second and final handful of the sand and drew an outline of Harris' body starting at his right hip and going completely around. With the contents of the bottle all used up he returned it to the vise attachment and began to chant the words that would put everything in motion.

To the men around him it would no doubt be perceived as gibberish but it was in fact a variation on the Latin he used to perform the spell in Sunnydale. The language had indeed been based on Latin but had some significant differences that would render anyone who used it incomprehensible to those listening. It in fact might have been in use today if it hadn't been because of certain groups using it for purposes far darker than what he himself was using it for in this spell. Thanks to the recklessness of those few rogue elements the language was all but dead and known to only a few in the darker corners of the magical community. He himself only learned it because he had managed to call in a sizeable favor from someone who knew it fluently. True that same person would probably kill him if they ever found out that the act that had earned him the favor had been orchestrated but hopefully it wouldn't be for some years yet.

The only thing that those around him noticed as being different from before he started his chanting was that now the ingredients he had used seemed to be glowing with a inner light that seemed to be getting brighter by the moment. It would appear like someone turning on a small light and then somehow gradually increasing the brightness of that light more and more over time. That is what it looked like inside each grain of crystal sand and in every part of the liquid he had used to draw the spiral on the Harris boy's chest. The color of the light seemed to match the color of the substance it was contained within but if one looked closely one could almost detect a difference, a different color, flickering in the light. However as his chanting progressed and began to raise in volume the flickering began to happen more and more often as well as lasting for more than a blink of an eye. Then something happened that no one would have been able to miss as both the spiral and the crystal sand lifted up off the boy's body and began to rotate clockwise in the air above him. Then, as if coming into synch with one another, the rotation speed of the ingredients and the flickering inner light within them, started to increase. With every successful rotation of the ingredients the glow with them grew brighter and its blood red color began to contrast more and more with the color of the ingredients themselves. Then as if some force decided to skip the boring build up of rotation speed and brightness both variables reached their peak in between breaths. The spiral was now moving so fast that it looked like a vortex and the grains of crystal sand appeared to be made of energy rather than solid matter.

From there things got interesting.

As if affected by the vortex of glowing liquid the equally glowing crystal sand began to be drawn into the vortex and eventually circle downwards into it like something going down the drain. When the crystal sand reached the center of the vortex a new level of weird was revealed as the sand was changing into a beam of crimson light that shot down from the rotating vortex hitting the boy in the chest. There was no visible reaction from the boy aside from a sudden increase in breathing but that was expected at this point in the spell. Now came the trickier parts that had the highest probability of going wrong but were also crucial in ensuring that Harris would be Alucard's match in terms of power. Without any interruption to his chanting he signaled the men by the table where the ingredients sat to begin passing him the next series of items. From there it was a rapid fire routine of identify what he had been passed, use it and then pass it back for the next fifteen minutes straight. It was at roughly the halfway point when the Harris boy began to react rather violently to the spell by screaming bloody murder while his back was arched upward and his limbs strained against their restraints. Eventually the screaming stopped as the pain of the changes going on in Harris" body likely proved to be too much for him causing him to lose consciousness. Hopefully that would be the only screaming episode for the next little while because it was more than a little distracting even to an experienced chaos mage like him. Oh he enjoyed the pain and screams that came along with his ventures into black chaos magic but even he wasn't totally immune.

_For what it's worth boy you won't suffer for very much longer._ Ethan thought as he continued to make use of the ingredients being passed to him while moving onto verse after verse of the spell in question.

As the last vial of the second series of items was mixed into the vortex and from there 'beamed' into the lad's body. The vortex's function was to directly infuse the ingredients into the target's body and merge them with his or her physiology on every level imaginable. This was to make up for the time they didn't have to infuse the ingredients into the boy gradually over time as well as properly prepare the clothes and the other parts of the costume. Normally he would have insisted for things to be done properly and at the pace prescribed in the various tomes and spell books he usually consulted. However it had been decided that given the nature of what they were attempting and the attention that it would attract by their respective enemies speed was a necessity rather than an option. It did make things a bit more iffy than he liked and although he hadn't told Mr. Keitel or Schneider this he was not all that certain that Harris would survive this spell with all his marbles. Another side effect of doing this all at once rather than waiting and taking their time with each installment of the spell. Still if he was lucky he would be long gone by the time they became convinced Xander Harris was nothing more than a vegetable.

As the beam from the vortex to the boy returned to a bright crimson Ethan knew it was time for the final phase and hope that his hunch had been right about this place. Switching languages in mid stride he began to chant louder than ever and as soon as he finished speaking the first sentence the symbols and the diagrams on the ground lit up with an inky black light. It was definitely a mood setter as the contingent of Millennium soldiers took a step back at this sight and even Schneider seemed intimidated by what he saw. It was when he began to chant incantations to draw the inky blackness away from the ground that the real struggle began. While a few symbols immediately surrounding the alter were there to help with the first two phases of the spell the rest were there strictly for the third and final step. The symbols, the diagrams and the new section of chanting were centered on drawing the 'essence' of the force/entity/energy that changed Vlad Tepes into the No Life King from the surrounding earth and infusing it into the boy. After all while raw chaos magic could probably bestow upon the boy a good copy of Alucard's abilities the Millennium group had found that forgeries tended to disappoint. Therefore Ethan was doing his best to draw what he needed from the source of Alucard's power using the remnants left in the soil where he had been turned all those years ago. Fortunately it appeared that his hunch about this stretch of land was accurate of the black light springing up from the ground was any hint. However it was not being very co-operative as far as parting from its companion the dirt after being together for so long and it was proving to be something of a bother.

_Oh well! Nothing good ever comes easy in this world despite my uncovering evidence that indicates to the contrary._ Ethan thought to himself as he dug in his proverbial heels and mentally pulled at the essence of Alucard for all that he was worth.

With this goliath feat of mental strength the chaos mage known as Ethan Rayne began to tear the essence of the energy that created the most powerful vampire in history and pour it into its new host. It was in these final moments of the spell that he knew that sensitive beings worldwide would sense that something was amiss. The vampire community for sure would be able to feel a change in the status quo among their undead kind and Alucard himself would receive a rather painful notice of what was going on. He just hoped that the proverbial 'connection' broke off at the conclusion of the spell so none of his enemies or those of the Millennium group could pinpoint their exact location.

In any case now their activities were known worldwide in some form or another and he could only guess how they would react.

Prague, Viktor"s Mansion 

"What the hell is going on?" Kraven asked in concern without thinking of maintaining decorum in front of the assembly of Death Dealers and his subordinates.

It was a question that almost every other vampire in the room as they all felt a sensation that they were unaccustomed to feeling even when hunting large packs of Lycans. It was a growing sensation of fear, like what one feels when a dangerous predator is near, and just when they thought it would finally stop it continued on as if to spite them. One of the Death Dealers had already made a call to their central security room to see if there was anything approaching the gates surrounding the mansion but so far nothing suspicious was going on. However the assurances from the various forms of security that protected the compound from intruders did little to dispel the unsettling feeling creeping along the nerve endings of every vampire in the mansion. Something was happening, something that spoke of change and of something powerful coming into existence. All in all it was a new feeling for those that considered them to be at the top of their distinctive food chain. They knew that they were not the only race of beings in the world that lorded over the humans and other more fragile forms of life but at the same time they believed that so long as certain obligations were met they would be left to their own devices. This new 'presence' they were feeling had some worried that a new player might be emerging that could alter their way of life forever or at least make any and all deals between them and the other races null and void.

For Kraven this made him wonder if he should arrange a meeting with Lucien and postpone their plan for a few months to see what new developments arose in the next few weeks. For one Death Dealer though it caused her to recall the last time she had been in the presence of such power and wonder if this new force she sensed would have a similar effect on her destiny.

She supposed that only time would tell.

Paris, France, Same Time 

"Are you alright Madame Harker?" asked a concerned waiter as he looked he looked at the black haired woman who seemed to be on the verge of falling over.

For a moment the black haired woman could not reply as she tried to regain some control over her body and banish the sensations that were coursing through her body. Eventually she managed an affirmative nod and did her best to look as though she was okay or at least would be so in a few moments. The truth of the matter was she was not okay and needed to leave the polite dinner function she had been invited to before her true nature shone through for all to see. Gathering herself up she walked briskly towards the exit not allowing anyone to get in her way whether they meant well or not. She knew that leaving like this would damage her reputation somewhat in this community but such things didn't really bother her anymore. If things did wind up going down the tubes she would just move on as she had dozens of times before when people began to notice that one Madame Mina Harker had not aged a day in all the time they'd known her. It was part of her curse, one of the handicaps she'd been forced to live with ever since he had met him and caught his eye. There did exist some positive aspects to being True Nosfuratu but in her bitterness over how she had been changed and all that it had taken from her she rarely acknowledged them. Instead she preferred to curse Dracula for what he had done and pray that he was suffering in his slavery to the Hellsing family.

However the sensations that were only now beginning to become bearable for her hummed the same way they used to when he was near. She could never forget the feel of his power. To her unnatural senses his power was as unique as the Earth itself and she could not mistake it for anything else even if she tried. However from what little she could determine the sense of power she was feeling was not coming from England where she knew her 'sire' existed in slavery. That left her wondering what the source could be and whether or not she would be forced to serve it as she once had Dracula himself.

The icicle of fear in her still heart was all that she felt in response to that thought.

Rome, Italy, Same Time 

"Father Jacob! Father Jacob!" came a young voice echoing through the halls of the Iscariot Organization HQ causing the man being yelled for to turn around.

Father Jacob was a grandfatherly looking man who had recently been appointed the head of the Iscariot Organization after the fall of its previous leader Enrico Maxwell. It was a fall that brought much shame to the heretic and vampire-hunting group forcing them to scale back some of their operations to better please their superiors. Father Jacob was part of the strategy to repair their damaged reputation but while he had a kind and gentle face he could be one merciless monster when the situation called for it. He also was in charge of their resident regenerator Paladin Alexander Anderson who he was at that moment on his way to see for a briefing. Their premier warrior in the battle against the heretics and the filthy vampires of the world was a volatile person these days after having his trust in the Iscariot shaken by Maxwell's fall. He still seemed willing to take orders and do his duty but there was an element of mistrust still present in him. It would likely be a long time before the man would ever have the trust in the Iscariot Organization that he once had. Until then all that Father Jacob could do was attempt to nurture what trust there was and pray that his efforts were rewarded.

"What is it Timothy?" Jacob asked with kind concern and interest in his voice.

"It is the sensory division sir! All but one of our seers have just died while in the midst of some sort of vision!" , Timothy replied as he came to a stop and tried to speak as clearly as he could while catching his breath, "It was like something just reached inside their heads and overwhelmed them! There is one still alive but our doctors do not expect him to live past a day!"

The young Iscariot member's words drove all thought of the briefing with Anderson from Father Jacob's mind as he tried to comprehend the implications of what he had been told. The seers in the sensory division were a crucial part of the Iscariot's efforts against the throngs of the undead and the blasphemous. The enemy had all manner of methods to conceal their presence from conventional detection and so unconventional solutions were employed. Using the visions sent to their seers by the Lord Almighty himself they had managed to exterminate many vampire nests and prevented the monsters from working their dark magicks to end the world. As such they were each well trained both in ensuring their minds were strong enough to receive the Creator's messages and wise enough to make sense of them so that they could be used in the great battle. To hear that all but one of them had been killed instantly by something their gifted minds had received was shocking to say the least.

"Take me to them." Father Jacob commanded with no room in his tone for discussion.

Nodding dutifully the young man led his leader as quickly as he could to the sub-level where the seers lived and did their job. Upon entering the room that had been prepared for them Father Jacob had to gasp at the sight before him and immediately crossed himself before sending a prayer to God to take care of the seers' souls. Five of the six seers were quite obviously dead as blood was trickling down from their eyes, ears, nose and mouth. This would be consistent with significant bleeding of the brain and an overloading of their special gift by some unknown force. The final seer was laid out on the table as several doctors fought valiantly to save the Hispanic man even though they likely knew their efforts were in vain. Even Father Jacob could tell the young man did not have long for this world but before he was allowed to depart the leader of the Iscariot had to attempt to learn what had done this.

"Can he hear me?" Jacob asked the doctor in charge as he walked up to the table.

The doctor seemed to understand what it was the old priest wanted and replied "I believe so but if you expect to get anything intelligible out of him I would suggest you hurry."

Nodding Father Jacob knelt down beside the man and asked "Jose? Jose, can you hear me?"

"Y-yes Father J-jacob." Jose replied with disjointed words as he tried to force his brain to send the relevant signals to his mouth.

"What did this my son? What happened?" Father Jacob asked urgently as he began to see the young man's eyes begin to lose their focus.

"I … I saw a field! Men gathered there! Millennium! Dark power rising!", Jose replied vigorously as the remembering of those images put increased strain on his mind, "He's coming! H-he's coming!"

"Who Jose? Who is coming?" Father Jacob demanded as he saw his one source of information concerning this whole calamity slipping away from him.

"T-the No L-life P-prince …." Jose managed to reply before the death gasp left him and his entire body went limp.

Father Jacob's body was on autopilot as it crossed itself but his mind was awash with activity. What the seer had just implied was great indeed both because of the similarity to the vampire Alucard's title as the No Life King and implication that the Millenium group was somehow tied to this new being's creation. The majority of the Iscariot and even His Holiness with his advisors believed that the Millennium group was all but defeated with only a few splinter cells to deal with. To suddenly be shown evidence that maybe the Nazi remnant still might have some considerable strength and resources left to it was troubling. That they might have sufficient occult resources left to them to create something so powerful as to claim the title of No Life Prince spoke ill of the future to come. Grabbing Timothy by the elbow he led the young man out of the room and shut the door behind him.

"Timothy I have a very important task for you." Father Jacob said as he looked the young man straight in the eye.

"Whatever you command I shall do Father." Timothy said determination born of someone just being recognized by the person they admired the most.

"Get in touch with our spies throughout the world but particularly in the Hellsing Organization. While they might be heretics they do have sources of information that we do not." , Father Jacob stated with seriousness in keeping with the situation, "We must find this No Life Prince and his Millennium group masters before they have an opportunity to use him against us."

"I understand Father Jacob. You can trust me to get you the information you require as soon as I possibly can." Timothy said with the determination he would use to obtain the data clearly ringing in his voice.

"I'm sure you will." Father Jacob said with faith he truly didn't have in the boy.

The assignment was just to keep the lad busy and not allow him to start spreading the news of this any further than he already had. Right now they had to keep the news about a possible No Life Prince under wraps until it could either be safely denied or the plan to destroy it was already underway. If news got to the Vatican and His Holiness that something of this magnitude had managed to elude their information gathering services until it was already too late to stop the life expectancy of the Iscariot could be measured in months. Never before had the Iscariot organization's existence been threatened like this but then again one of their leaders had never gone mad with power only for a No Life Prince to be born months later. It was ominous to have so many large-scale events to happen in such a short span of time that he began to wonder if he should consult the scrolls they had pertaining to the next apocalypse. Shaking his head he decided to meet with his division heads to see if they had come across any information that could help them or at least any information that could have been used to prevent this calamity that failed to reach his ears.

_God lend me your strength and damn that Enrico Maxwell for allowing his baser desires to land Iscariot in this perilous situation! _Father Jacob thought to himself as he headed to the main office area.

Hellsing Manor, London, England, Same Time 

"So you found nothing concerning the Millenium group or the American?" Integra as she looked across her desk to where the Hellsing family weapon was sitting smirking at her with his usual 'I plan on annoying you' look.

"Unfortunately no my Master. I pressed several of the more powerful demon lords in the city for answers but they knew nothing of value." Alucard replied with his usual Cheshire Cat-like grin on his face.

"I trust you didn't cause any more damage to London during your interrogations than necessary." Integra stated but knew her servant would pick up on the question hidden within.

The only answer she received was an even bigger grin on his face that seemed on the verge of becoming a full-blown smile. She was about to deliver one of her icy reprimands when a shock went through her that was so potent it succeeded in breaking her composure. However that was nothing compared to Alucard's reaction to this unknown assault on their senses and it was indeed his reaction that caused her estimation of this occurrence's importance to spike sharply. The True Nosfuratu known as Alucard was a rigid mess on the chair before her, his limbs and back fluctuating from stiff to relaxed at random, with parts of his body shifting to the darkest black for seconds at a time. She could tell from the look on his face that he was fighting it and there were signs that he was slowly regaining control but whatever it was that had attacked the two of them had caught them both completely off guard. For the No Life King however it had proven more potent leading her to believe that he was the focus of the attack while she had only been exposed to it through her family's link with him. Given that the link was only meant to allow her to adjust the Control Arts level to allow Alucard greater or in some cases lesser amounts of his power it was surprising that she had felt anything at all. Whatever was happening out there it was threatening to change the status quo drastically and given the timing she could only think to blame one institution.

The Millennium Group.

The timing of their abduction of Mr. Harris and this shocking occurrence happened too close together for it to be anyone else but them. What troubled her even more was that whatever they were doing was having a profound effect on Alucard. In all the time the vampire had been in her service he had never shown signs of being in pain or anything resembling trouble. He was always supremely confident in his abilities, insulting to his enemies and virtually indestructible to any known means of attack. It was true that the abomination known as Incognito had managed to bring Alucard closer to destruction than most enemies of the Hellsing Organization had but that had only been due to the level the Control Arts had been set at. As it had been proven when she had lowered the Arts temporarily to Level One Alucard was much more powerful and durable than anyone save her suspected.

Yes this attack was definitely in a league of its own and even though it seemed to be abating it still worried her with what it could mean and what the source was. What could the Millennium group be doing, involving Mr. Harris, no less that could produce such a profound effect on arguably the most powerful being in Europe? It was beginning to appear more and more that the circumstances of the world were being changed this night and by the time a new equilibrium was established she meant to find out how.

Unknown Field, Eastern Wallachia, 1:00a.m 

_Well I certainly won't be doing magic for a good while that's for certain!_ Ethan thought to himself as he leaned up against the black alter in front of him.

It had taken quite a bit more effort to draw every last scrap of essence from the surrounding field and pour it into the boy but in the end the spell was completed as planned. The Millennium group now had a True Nosfuratu every bit as powerful as Alucard was and once the alter, which was the focus of the spell, was shattered they'd be able to mould Xander Harris' mind quite easily. After all the lad would have numerous centuries of memories pounding in his head for attention along with the new sense and impulses a True Nosfuratu would have only more intense than a fledgling would have. As he managed to force his head to look up he watched as they placed the boy inside a black coffin with a layer of dirt at the bottom. Then with utmost care they lowered the lid and locked it shut. Most likely the dirt that was in the coffin came from the very soil surrounding Alucard's former residence before being enslaved to the Hellsing family. As for the coffin he supposed Schneider's men were just hedging their bets although as far as this chaos mage was concerned the big silver-laced cargo container thing was overkill enough. Its walls, ceiling and bottom were so thick that it would be a close thing as to whether or not they'd be able to fit the coffin in there at all. Add to that the numerous talismans embedded into the outside of the container and it was quite clear to him that anything placed in there would not be breaking out on its own.

It doesn't concern me anyway. Ethan thought to himself as enough strength finally returned to him to no longer require him to use the alter for support, My job is finished and as soon as I get my payment I intend to find a nice sandy beach somewhere in the world where the woman are beautiful and morality is a forgotten memory.

He then began to walk over to Schneider who was supervising the sealing up of the giant container with a slab that must have been horizontal on the ground when he had arrived in order for him not to notice it beforehand. After hearing the 'clank' of the two pieces of metal hitting each other he watched as a team of four began to attach clamps of some kind to the sides where the slab and the container met. All in all it wasn't very interesting for the chaos mage and when added to his already considerable fatigue he wasn't in the mood to contemplate the whys and what for of what Schneider's men were doing. As he got within ten feet of the man in question his Millennium group babysitter turned around and looked at him with an expression that betrayed nothing of what was going on inside the soldier's head.

"It would seem that your spell has worked Mr. Rayne. Even though the Harris subject is unconscious at the moment I can indeed sense the power Alucard has been reported to exhibit when the restraints on his power have been loosened." , Schneider said in an official military tone of voice, "We will of course have to make sure of that under controlled conditions but currently I do not anticipate failure."

"Well then I guess my work is done. Be sure to inform Mr. Keitel that I expect to see my payment transferred to my offshore account by the end of the week." Ethan Rayne said before turning to walk towards the vehicle that brought him here.

It was because of that fatal mistake that he never saw Schneider raise the butt of his flashlight and then slam it down hard on the back of his head. As he dropped to the ground and unconsciousness rushed in he heard only one statement from Schneider but it was enough to make sure his dreams were nightmares.

"I'm afraid you have one more duty to perform for your creation Mr. Rayne: food."

_**Two Weeks Later, Unknown Geographic Location, Millenium Group R&D Facility**_

Early Evening 

"How does our subject fair Dr. Grueber?" Keitel asked as he looked through the observation window at the form within the most advanced vampire containment chamber ever conceived.

"Physically he is almost completely recovered from the transformation Herr Keitel. The infusion of blood from Mr. Rayne proved most advantageous to the subject's recovery in the days immediately following the spell." Grueber replied as he flipped through a few sheets of paper on his clipboard, "Once the ghoul was disposed of however the subject's level of activity dropped significantly and now only responds when the thirst is in control."

That of course was to be expected once the spell had been shattered two days later once it had been determined by their own experts that the changes in the subject's physiology had finally stabilized. It had been an almost instantaneous change from before the focus of the spell had been destroyed and afterwards but Keitel found it to be similar to a puppet that had its strings cut. It had been surmised by their psychological expert that it would take time for the subject to recover from the mental trauma of the additional memories and new sensory input it now had. How long it would remain in its current vegetative state was unknown and would depend greatly on the fused mind's own resiliency and strength. Basic survival instincts were apparently present as the presence of the thirst confirmed but all higher functions such as speech or even basic locomotion was minimal at best. Keitel personally hoped that the subject's condition began to improve soon or the other members of the Millennium group's board of directors would begin to circle like vultures around him.

"Anything new from the psychological department?" Keitel asked as he attempted to peer past the mane of black hair obscuring the subject's crimson eyes.

"They continue to state that whether the subject returns to some level of normal mental activity is dependent on its own mind." Grueber replied making his lack of confidence in that department clear, "Some of their 'mind benders' have attempted to enter his mind and 'jump start' it into activity but all their efforts have met with either a barrier or a rather vicious ejection from the subject's mind. Still the fact that there is a response to the intrusion itself would seem to indicate that someone is indeed at home in there. The dilemma is how to motivate it to come out into the real world."

That was indeed the dilemma.

Just as had been hypothesized by Mr. Rayne when they had been laying down the foundation for the project the subject's mind had been effectively broken by the procedure or at the very least weakened to the point where it could be altered. However first it would seem they'd have to coax it out of this stupor in order to engage it in conversation. Not the normal method of indoctrinating a new recruit but with the 'mind benders' unable to breach its defenses some duller methods would have to be employed.

"Any suggestions Doctor?" Keitel asked as he gave up trying to find the subject's ruby red eyes beneath the mess of black hair.

"Aside from experimenting with various forms of stimulus to provoke and sustain a reaction in it I am afraid not." Grueber said with disappointment at not being able to come up with an effective solution to the dilemma, "It may well be true that we might have to wait and hope that the subject's mind recovers on its own."

"Perhaps." Keitel stated pessimistically as he turned away from the observation window.

"I do however have some good news for you Herr Keitel." , Grueber said with some pride as they began to walk down the corridor, "We have just recently completed the latest series of implants into the lieutenant's brain and I am pleased to inform you that she has achieved almost complete lucidity. We are currently waiting for her body to repair the more severe damage caused by the operation and integrate the implants more fully before we re-insert the security chips."

"Is it wise to leave her unattended with the security chips outsider her cerebrum?" Keitel asked with a bit of concern.

"Do not worry Herr Keitel. Even with the new level of lucidity the implants give her she is still weak from the loss of blood both from the operation and from regenerating the missing bone and tissue." Grueber stated waving dismissively at Keitel's concern, "She will not be in any position to be a danger until her blood reserves have been replenished and we will not permit that until after the security chips are back in place."

"Good. Let us hope that this new and improved Lieutenant Rip Van Winkle will prove to be more useful to us than the old one was." Keitel said with pessimism in his voice as he planned to have his current project replace that mad hag eventually.

With that Keitel and Dr. Grueber continued down the corridor to the next experiment being conducted at the installation. However if they had only thought to look into the containment cell after that last comment by Keitel they would have cleared their schedules for the rest of the week. Inside the cell still wearing the garb he had been put in by the Millennium Group's soldiers for Ethan Rayne's spell was one Xander LaVelle Harris. For the past two weeks, give or take a few days, he has sat motionless on the floor of the containment cell he was placed in moving only when survival became an issue. After all survival is a potent instinct in every living thing and drives us to do many things we never thought we could do. However, with the mention of a name, something other than vacant stare came from the crimson eyes the former high school student was now blessed or cursed with. A flicker of life came into being within those eyes and while it was small anyone who looked would know that it was only a matter of time before it grew into something more dangerous. For with the name Rip Van Winkle the chaos filled mind of one Alexander LaVelle Harris now had something to center itself on and with that focus would come the strength he would need to re-enter the world around him.

It was anyone's guess as to whether that would bode good or ill for the world.

Xander's Mindscape 

Chaos.

That was the only word that could do justice to the state of the Zeppo's mind and one need only look at the storm of images, sounds and smells that whipped about the environment to understand the situation the young Californian was in. He was being overwhelmed and forced to deal with information not his own and all at once rather than one day at a time like he was used to. To deal with a standard lifetime of up to seventy years would have been hard enough on someone his age but he was being forced to deal with several centuries worth of memories and a large majority of them were not pleasant. Many involved a brutal and bloody war in which orders were given to impale the bodies of any still living enemies on top of pikes and plant them vertically in the ground. Without hesitation or remorse these orders were given and for some reason it felt and appeared as though he himself had been the one that gave the order. Half of his mind knew this could not be so because it believed he was one Xander Harris of Sunnydale, California and thus could not have been involved in such a bloody campaign. The other half believed it was someone else entirely and felt nostalgia when the images of the forest of the dead swept over the mindscape. It was this conflicting points of view that prevented coherency from coming into existence in this environment for neither portion of the mind was willing to submit to the other. The mind of Xander Harris fought tooth and claw to separate his mind from the monster he perceived as having invaded his mind while the other half was such that surrender would be considered worse than death.

However things changed when the body that the two minds occupied heard the end of a conversation taking place somewhere else. To them, in this place, it was akin to a voice on the wind as it were and thus was barely perceived as a human voice much less anything to be concerned about. They had received such whispers quite a bit in recent memory although how long that was in conventional time like hours or days neither mind could truly tell. After all in the realm of the mind time is subjective. A dream can seem to last only minutes when in fact the dreamer has been asleep for almost eight hours straight. However with this new conversation a name was mentioned that caused the conflict between the two minds to break off for a moment and consider what was being said. Most of it neither entity residing in the body of Xander Harris particularly cared about aside from the fact that it was being spoken by their captors and thus only caused anger in them. It was the last sentence that was perceived by the sensitive ears of the newborn True Nosfuratu that caught both of their attention although it took the entity that made up Xander LaVelle Harris a little longer.

"Good. Let us hope that this new and improved Lieutenant Rip Van Winkle will prove to be more useful to us than the old one was," came the voice of the man whom both entities despised due to the way he referred to them.

However it was the person mentioned by this man that brought a halt to the conflict between the two entities as it rang a rather loud bell it its memories. Almost at once a virtual slide show and clip reel of images were brought up in the mindscape for both entities to see as well as sound that occasionally went with the images shown. All of the input, or memories as the case may be, were of a beautiful raven haired young woman of between fifteen and eighteen years of age in appearance. Some images and clips shown could easily have been and were most of younger versions of the same young woman. The part of the mindscape that was Xander Harris likened what he was being shown as a mish-mash of family albums and home movies except with much greater detail. As more and more information swept by both entities a sense of urgency came over both of them albeit for completely different reasons. For the part of the mindscape that was Xander Harris he found the young woman to be quite beautiful and thought she would be a good person to be friends with. The thought of someone like this being treated like a lab rat made his blood boil and quadrupled the anger he had been feeling towards his tormentors and the man who seemed to be in charge. For the other entity though it was a tidal wave familial love and tenderness before those emotions were washed away in a sea of feelings that so far beyond rage and bloodlust as to make those descriptions understatements of the highest order.

It was with this joint opinion of both Rip Van Winkle and what was being done to her that the mindscape underwent dramatic changes. Gone was the conflict between the two entities as well as the chaos that existed as a result. Instead of attempting to destroy one another an understanding seemed to be reached between the two and with that understanding the mindscape was divided in two. On the left was a commonplace American living room possessing all the furniture and appliances that one would come to expect to find in a middle class living room. The other was vastly different in that it resembled a castle's throne room with decorations and furniture that would fetch a hefty price at any antique auction or from any prominent museum. The two halves were also a contrast in terms of how they looked with the one belonging to Xander Harris being relatively bright and optimistic while the other belonged in the scariest horror film. It was a clear example of contrasts but instead of conflict there was harmony for both sides were now united under a single purpose and that was all that was necessary to bring order. As if to symbolize that two forms appeared on either side of the divide and looked at one another eye to eye with neither blinking one bit.

On one side was Xander Harris dressed in jeans, a T-shirt and one of his unique (although his friends would say loud) Hawaii shirts. On the other side was the new tenant who in terms of physical appearance was quite similar to Xander with a few notable exceptions. This version had long black hair that reached almost to the waist and blood red eyes that gave off an almost mad gleam. Fangs could be seen due to the shark-like smile plastered across the being's face and it wore the same clothes that their physical body wore in the real world. The silence between the two of them seemed to stretch out for an eternity but when it came to and end there was just one thing to do and one thing to say.

"Time to give these assholes a reality check!" they both said in perfect synch as they shook hands to seal their pact.

_**Real World, Xander"s Containment Cell, Ten Minutes After Keitel and**_

Grueber Left 

It was an R&D technician who first noticed something was amiss as he was walking by the observation window of the containment cell. At first he thought he was merely seeing things as there was silver wire fence between him and the subject and it was possible it was causing him to mistake something else for movement. Deciding it would be hazardous to his health if something was amiss and he didn't report it he leaned closer to the observation window attempting to get a clear look at the room's occupant. Unfortunately for him that was the last thing he would ever do since a split second after he found just the right angle to peer inside the silver fence exploded towards the glass shattering it causing him to be bombarded by both metal and glass fragments. Needless to say the technician was dead before he hit the floor and his blood decorated the floor and walls around him quite thoroughly. As a result of this explosion of metal there was now a sizeable hole in the containment cell roughly the size of your average wrecking ball. It was through this that the cell's occupant rose into the air and then settled down onto the floor without making any sound. Fortunately for the rest of the people occupying the complex the alarms that activated the moment the silver fence was broken made plenty of noise so it all worked out in the end.

The figure took in the entire area in a manner that indicated that he was looking for something or in this case someone. So engrossed was he in his search that he failed to take notice of a group of five guards that came around the corner with assault rifles aimed squarely at him. Either that or he just didn't care what they did so long as it did not interfere with his search. He ignored their demands that he surrender and took no notice of the leader when he fired off a few rounds just an inch shy of the True Nosfuratu's neck. It was only when his search finally located the person he was after in the direction the guards were blocking that he took notice of them.

"Get out of my way." He said managing to both imply that he'd move them himself if they refused and that they were beneath his notice.

"Dream on lab rat! We're the ones in charge here and we'll say who does what!" the leader of the guard group declared angrily, "Now put your hands behind your head and get face down on the ground now!"

To this the being once known as the human Xander Harris merely let out a bone-chilling laugh as it became clear to him that these men had no comprehension of who they were facing. Not that he expected the higher ups to fully inform the grunts and cannon fodder of what they were guarding or what might happen if such 'things' got loose. After all one of the best ways to keep a secret in a single compound is to make sure that no one person has access to the complete picture as it were except perhaps the top five most powerful people there. He supposed it was time to send a message to not only other guards who might oppose him on his way to pick up Rip Van Winkle but also when he left this place with her. Drawing upon the power of his darker half, shadows that existed in the corridor extending both twenty meters in front of him and behind him expanded beyond their normal size. They defied all laws of science and nature as they became far too large for the objects creating them or the amount of light currently present in the area. Eventually all light was eradicated from the area which conflicted with the fact that the guards could still see themselves as if they were still in the corridor. Turning their attention back to the target they were supposed to capture they were shocked to find him gone. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your point of view) they did not have to wait long before his whereabouts became know. With no perceivable pattern, crimson eyes began to wink into existence all around them with some pairs of eyes being accompanied by a fanged mouth whereas some eyes were alone.

"Wha-What's goin' on here?" One of the guards asked with a fearful stutter as he tried to find some place around him where no crimson eye or fanged mouth could be seen.

"What? Didn't your bosses tell you what and whom you were sent to stop little man?" said all the fanged mouths as the eyes widened in sadistic glee, "No? Then allow me to show you exactly what you're up against!"

With that forms outlined with an eerie crimson glow began to separate themselves from the floor, walls and ceiling. Multi-eyed hounds they were some looking like the fabled hellhound Cerberus with three drooling heads and all of them looking hungrily looking at the five guards. Needless to say this sight caused two of them to start firing at these shapes immediately in an act of self-preservation with the remaining three joining in a few moments later as they no doubt believed that planning a strategy was now useless. However while holes were indeed made in the forms they did not last for very long as they soon oozed shut leaving no trace that there had ever been damage in that spot. The first to be eaten was someone who looked like your generic army grunt who, while good at his job, was ultimately considered expendable by his superiors. A twelve-eyed hellhound came at him from behind and clamped down hard on his torso producing a pain soaked scream from the man as he was lifted into the air and shook like a chew toy. Needless to say it took about five good shakes before the man was chewed into two pieces and both halves fell to the floor.

This pretty much shattered whatever professional control the remaining five guards may have managed to maintain despite their growing fear and two of them ran in the direction they had last remembered the corridor leading away from the monster was located. Bad move on their part. They had taken no more than five steps before the three headed Cerberus look-a-like struck them head on taking large chunks of flesh with them before being reabsorbed into the blackness surrounding the remaining two guards. Of the troupe of five guards there remained only the leader and his second in command. Both of them looked about ready to piss themselves as they had seen three of their comrades killed in the most gruesome of ways right before their eyes. There was blood everywhere, some of it even on their clothes, and they didn't even think of what else may be strewn about the floor around them. In a move born more of instinct rather than conscious thought the moved until they stood back to back with one another with assault rifles at the ready. In response to this action laughter filled the air that froze the blood in the guards' veins in a way that no horror film or threat by their superiors could ever match.

"Still willing to put up a fight I see!" Xander said as he looked down on the two remaining guards from his hiding spot in the ceiling, "Well then, let's see what we can do to change that!"

In the blink of an eye and way to fast for either guard to do anything four black hounds lunged from the surrounding blackness and latched onto a limb belonging to the second in command. The second in command began to frantically pull on his arms and legs in an attempt to get free but all four hellhounds were clamped down tight so the man's struggles only made guard's pain worse. Once the 2IC was almost to where the leader of the guard remembered the ceiling would be he saw a sight that broke what ever shred of defiance and strength was left in him. For he saw his second in command literally be torn apart as all at once the hellhounds pulled on the limbs they had clamped down on causing flesh to tear within the blink of an eye. Blood came down on the leader like rain and he was smacked in the face by hi second in command's upper torso as the hellhound that used to have a grip on the guard's left arm let go. By this point the leader was on the verge of a psychotic break and Xander knew it was time to wrap things up and get moving to where he had sensed Rip Van Winkle's presence. With a thought the crimson eyes and fanged mouths began to wink out and the inky black shadows began to separate before shrinking back to their scientifically predefined sizes. However even once the majority of the inky blackness had disappeared a ghostly black form of a cape wearing man remained with crimson irised eyes of various sizes spread all over. The only way the leader was able to tell where the face was located was due to the fact that there was only one fanged mouth in remotely the right position relative to the eyes.

"Now I believe I asked you and your men to move out of my way." Xander stated almost casually with a hint of threat in his voice, "Will you obey my command now or do I have to teach you another lesson?"

The leader of the now decimated group of five guards scrambled to move out of the monster's way with his eyes never leaving the shape that was gradually returning to a more human appearance. With a calm and sedate pace the recently 'released' True Nosfuratu, formerly the human known as Xander, walked past the leader of the group of guards and chuckled deeply as the man seemed ready to climb up the walls. While the True Nosfuratu entertained for a moment sticking around to torment the man further he knew he was on borrowed time as it was and it would be better to get going. With that in mind he continued down the hallway and then turned right at the next intersection looking for all intents and purposes world like he was out for a leisurely stroll.

That is if you ignored the blood decorating the corridor behind him that is.

Ten Minutes Later, Two Levels down 

"My what thick doors they have here." Xander said in perfect deadpan as he looked at the construct of solid lead laced with silver, "I hope they keep spares handy because they're going to need one quite soon."

It hadn't taken him long to get past the various obstacles along his path to this door although he did have to give a few more groups of soldiers lessons in respect. Hopefully the seven he left still breathing would be enough to discourage further confrontations because depending on the health of dear Lilith he just might be inclined to throw his mercy out the window.

After examining the door he saw that it was designed so that while it was possible to open the twenty-foot tall doors in order to allow vehicles or large machinery in there was a smaller man sized door in the lower right hand corner. That door was of course adorned with several impressive looking locks clearly meant to ensure that should whatever is kept inside think that smaller meant weaker they would soon discover their mistake. The locks themselves were pure silver in nature and quite thick looking as well meaning that they were likely designed to deter those things vulnerable to that substance. He of course had to admit that to most vampires and True Nosfuratu this would be a deterrent but to him it was more of an annoyance. In the end the only real thing to do was decide just how he was going to inform these fools about just how limited their containment measures are. He supposed he could simply tear the door down but that might take just a little more time than he was prepared to give those on the other side. After all there was someone very special being kept within and while he doubted they could do much to harm her, permanently at least, they could cause her pain and that could not be allowed. So he would have to take a more subtle way in that would be swift enough to prevent any action by those inside from being possible. With the criteria in place the solution became obvious and he smiled as he willed the change to take place.

To those viewing the scene through the few intact security cameras it was as if his body lost the ability to hold itself together on the molecular level. Defined shapes and colors disappeared leaving only a shapeless mist that descended to the ground like smoke before drifting with unnatural speed to the man sized door. No pause was there in its pace as it reached the bottom of the door for it merely slid between the tiny gap between the bottom of the door and the floor. Bit by precious bit the formless wraith of smoke slid beneath the door until all that could be seen was the barest of ethereal trails left by its passing.

Once all of the mist reached the other side of the door it wasted no time on drama or presentation in reforming into the True Nosfuratu it had come from. However once the young man formerly the human Xander Harris reacquired his humanoid form and the senses that came with it the fate of every person in the building was permanently sealed. In the middle of a wide variety of machines and medical instruments that could be identified as well as those that could not be named was a form chained tightly down to a table. This table was not horizontal as most were but was rather positioned on an apparatus that allowed it to be placed vertically if the user so desired. The form was female without a doubt but just as clear was the fact that she was not anywhere near the level of health she should be at. Her limbs were painfully thin and looked as though they barely had any meat on them at all. Her skin while pale, as was the case with all of their kind, no longer had even the semblance of life in it that might have allowed anyone to mistake them for a pale human. The worst thing of all though was the fading sparkle of light in her half closed eyes and the signs that she was almost theirs both in mind and in body. They did not even see fit to give her even the barest trappings of clothing when they bound her to the table for their operations and experiments. No doubt to them she was little more than a possession, a weapon to be controlled, and as far as they were concerned such things needed not the garments of modesty or respect. To see Lilith Tepes, his little Rip Van Winkle, reduced to such a state like this filled him with such a rage that scarlet filled his vision that had nothing to do with the color of his irises.

With a yell filled with the emotion that surged through him he called on all the dark power within in his body and summoned a force to unleash his vengeance on this filth. With this yell though came an unearthly sound that neither mortal man nor primitive beast could make and it added to its unnatural feel as it echoed throughout the compound. With this cry even the most composed of men and women within felt a shiver of fear creep up their spine and only those that chose to flee immediately would live long enough to tell others what happened that night. For the rest the remainder of their existence could be measured anywhere from thirty minutes to thirty seconds as the shadows about them came alive with horrors. Beasts both known and unknown emerged from the living shadows and looked upon their new surroundings without fear or confusion. They cared not where they were and knew with all certainty what they had been summoned here to do. So without hesitation they leapt upon all things living within this complex whether they were human, animal or freak of nature and killed with unheard of ferocity.

In the room where Xander stood he was the only monster there but one True Nosfuratu was more than enough to scare all three of the human scientists present senseless. His every movement inspired fear in them and caused some to quite literally scream like little girls as they tried to get away from him never mind the fact that he was standing in front of the only way out. He knew that they were there and he had every intention of making each of them suffer for what they had done to his darling Lilith but for now his priority was to the lamiai's health. He strode until he was in front of her and gently raised her head until they were able to look into each other's eyes. For several seconds there was no reaction from her, no look of intelligence in her eyes, but then her eyes began to focus and a word came from her dry, thirsty mouth.

"Tata?" She whispered in question as she tried to move her right arm in order to touch him and make sure he was real.

"Not quite dear Lilith but I have come to take you away from this place of torment." Xander said in a gentle voice so unlike the look of rage on his face, "Shall we go?"

For a moment she appeared confused by both his reply to her question and to his own question but eventually she nodded a 'yes' to his inquiry.

"Then drink of my blood and grow stronger. You will need your strength for our escape." Xander said as he rolled up the right sleeve of the poet's shirt he wore and placed his forearm within easy reach of her mouth.

She did not hesitate to do as he bade and bit into his arm with much enthusiasm, slurping down the red liquid for everyone in the room to see and hear. The fear in the three scientists increased for they knew what effect the blood would have on the lab rat they had been tending to. They also knew that the measures designed to keep her under control were resting on a tray to their far right outside of her body. In short they knew that within seconds they would have not one, but two True Nosfuratu standing before them. Already both Xander and the scientists could see the restorative effect the blood was having on her body as her complexion improved (aside from the paleness of course) and muscle seemed to grow to a more healthy size. As time wore on though the three scientists wondered if the female vampire would ever stop drinking the other nosfuratu's blood. Eventually though her hunger was sated and she let go of his arm which healed from the bloody bite marks within seconds right before their eyes. Without waiting to check her condition Xander reached up and tore the restraints around her wrists from the table and then the one around her waist. As he moved down to take care of the ones at her ankles a playful smile appeared on her lips as she let out a small purr.

Smiling back at her he chuckled before saying "Now, now my dear. Business now, pleasure later."

Her smile reformed into a frown of disappointment before she nodded in agreement and when the last ankle restraint had been snapped off of her he helped her down and draped his crimson cape over her shoulders. With some modesty now hers and the immediate problem of Lilith's health dealt with he proceeded to lead her to the door he had come from. With a swift and powerful kick the metal door, laced with silver, was knocked off of its hinges as if it were just an ordinary wooden door and the locks were just of the ordinary variety. As both True Nosfuratu began to walk out the door the three scientists let out a sigh of relief believing that they would be spared. Unfortunately for them it was that very sigh that reminded Xander that they were there and a fanged grin spread across his face.

"Before I forget I found something that I believe belongs to one of your co-workers." Xander said as he reached inside of his poet's shirt for something, "I hope I can trust you to return it to him on your way to HELL!"

Withdrawing his right arm from the inside of his shirt he took out what was unmistakably a hand grenade usually issued to the guards out of the compound's armory. Biting down on the pin and hooking the ring around one fang he pulled it out. Then with an almost absentminded toss he threw it towards a shelf laden with various bottled chemicals and compounds. The scientists only had time to watch as the grenade bounced once off the shelf before it exploded and ignited the chemicals violently released by the detonation. In under a minute the entire room was ablaze and the screams of the three scientists echoed far and wide as they were burned alive before death finally claimed those responsible for Lilith's torment. It was music to the ears of the two vampires and as they began to walk towards the stairs leading to the surface both of them laughed at the mayhem that had been caused this night.

The Front Gates of the Millenium Group Compound, Thirty Minutes Later 

"Y-you're not going to j-just walk away from here!" Came an angry voice that also hinted that the person speaking was in pain.

Turning almost with annoyance Xander looked to find a man in a V.I.P officer's uniform standing a few feet from an exit opposite the one he and Lilith had just come through. The newly turned True Nosfuratu didn't recognize the man's face but his voice was unforgettably the one that had spoken so ill of Lilith and provided the common thread that brought him and his other from his inner mind to the outer world. This was the man responsible for his current existence as a True Nosfuratu and the hellish pain that he had been put through to become what he was at this very moment. Most people in his current situation would be temped to explode with rage and ignore everything else and focus only on getting revenge. Most would want to tear this man limb from limb without the kindness of administering a sedative first. For Xander though he knew exactly what he would do and allowed a slightly crazy grin to form on his face.

"Oh but we are boss man! We're going to walk right out of here and there isn't a thing you can do to stop us!" Xander stated with arrogance and a mocking tone in his voice, "After all unless you're packing something bigger than that pistol on your hip the most you'll be able to do to us is annoy us! Besides don't you think you have bigger things to worry about right now?"

A look of confusion crossed the man's face that was barely perceivable through his look of anger and Xander knew he would have to be blunt with the guy.

"How do you think your superiors in whatever Nazi club you belong to are going to react when they see all this," Xander asked indicating the burning ruins of the compound, "and find out that you've lost two of their prize lab rats, one of which required them to put an awful lot of faith in your abilities?"

It was with this simple stating of the facts in the form of a condescending question that caused the man to realize exactly how deep in shit he was and what likely awaited him. As far as Xander was concerned he figured this guy's number was pretty much up even if he somehow managed to convincingly blame someone else for his screw up. Nazi groups that evolved past the hate filled teenage rhetoric into something actually resembling a real armed movement generally had low tolerances for failure. He had a feeling that whatever this group was they had an absolute zero tolerance for screw ups and if their enemies didn't kill them in battle they were disposed of upon return to HQ. Taking that into account along with the fact that the man had no chance of recapturing either him or Lilith and the future was not looking particularly bright for this man. In fact his was, for a moment anyway, tempted to show some mercy to this man and kill him right here and now rather than let him suffer his Masters' 'punishment'. However after what this man did to him and likely authorized to be done on Lilith he found it somehow fitting that this man should spend the remainder of his days on the run from the organization he once served. He could imagine how this man would go from a poised professional to a man hiding in condemned buildings looking more like a hobo than an officer in some militia.

_Definitely a more suitable punishment for this scum!_ He thought as his grin turned into a full blown teeth & fang bearing smile.

"Now if you're quite finished little man Lilith and I have places to go and people to do!" he said with exaggerated impatience and annoyance.

"Don't you mean 'places to go and people to see' darling?" Lilith asked with a Romanian accent that quite frankly was sexy as hell.

"Nope!" Xander replied with a lustful look in his eyes.

With that they resumed their trot away from the compound and about ten minutes later the sound of a single gunshot rang out into the night signifying the end of an evil man who finally got some karmic payback. About two minutes later the even louder sound of the complex they had left behind them exploding thundered through the air and he figured some idiot back there had thought it was a good idea to use explosives on his summoned pets. While it was quite likely that the explosion had killed the majority of them he figured most of them had gone back to where ever they had come from once they had eaten their fill. After all while he wasn't exactly the same defender of mankind he once was, considering he was now True Nosfuratu, that didn't mean he was going to be irresponsible with his new abilities. He and Lilith would head to the nearest town to get some new clothes, some supplies and some rest. If there were any reports over the next few days of some new nasties no one had ever seen before he'd go clean them up. For now there was only one thing he planned to do.

"What a wonderful moonlit night, eh dear Lilith?" he asked as the faded into the darkness with a full moon hanging over their heads.


	3. Of Aftermaths and Ambitions

_Two Days Later, Just Inside the Czech Boarder_

He was alone at the moment but he found himself hoping that Lilith would be back soon from her late-night visit to the nearest blood bank.

For the past two days, after acquiring some new clothing the two of them, they had done their best to put as much distance between themselves and the demolished compound as possible. While Miss Winkle had been much restored by feeding on his blood he had detected, soon after leaving the compound, a growing difficulty in focusing his mind. It had been barely more than a tingle in the beginning, like an annoying sound your ears can just barely hear, but over the last two days it had grown considerably. Now it took actual effort from him to keep his mind from wandering as well as to be observant of the here and now. When Lilith was around, even if it was only her scent or presence, it was easier and less of a problem, but when she left like she had an hour ago, the problem returned to its previous levels. He wasn't one hundred percent, sure, but he had a working theory as to what was going on and why Lilith's proximity seemed to help.

Back at the compound it had been a joint concern for Rip Van Winkle, a.k.a Lilith's, well-being that had brought the two halves of his being together to form a unified self. Both the part of him that was still Xander Harris and the newly implanted part of him that was Vlad Tepes had desired to rescue her from her tormentors. It had been that unity that had quieted the storm of sounds and smells that had kept him in a virtually catatonic state since he had been changed. Now with Lilith no longer in the same level of danger that had brought about the partnership of two minds, the 'understanding' between the two was beginning to break down. Lilith being nearby slowed the progress of the decay but it did not stop it, not completely, and it would likely only be a matter of time before he was reduced to that unresponsive state once again.

He hadn't told Lilith this yet as he didn't want her to bother her with it until it began to affect his ability to function. She was perfectly sane in how she acted but at the same time she gave off an air of discomfort at suddenly being sane once more. Understandable since, according to the memories he gained from Vlad, she had gone more than a little insane after being turned into a True Nosfuratu. The memories continued with several attempts by the Count to discipline her and tone down her more unstable tendencies. Eventually, though, there was only one way to bring an end to her insane rampages of destruction and that was to seal her away in her coffin beneath an abandoned castle. After that there were no memories of Lilith at all, which left him wondering what happened that caused her to ally herself with those Nazi rejects. Did they just play on her insanity until she responded to their orders satisfactorily or did her disturbed mind just find something that appealed to her in some incomprehensible way? Whatever the situation, it was clear that her newfound sanity, a result of the implants into her brain, was like a person who had been blind for as long as they could remember suddenly being able to see. He knew she'd eventually be able to get used to it with his help and that was another reason why he was keeping his own growing mental instability to himself. No need to burden her with his mental problems when she was still sorting out her own unique variety of mental changes.

A change in the direction of the wind was the first thing that alerted him that the subject of his thoughts had returned with her scent soon being accompanied by footsteps. He waited patiently as she drew closer and closer while taking some solace in the way the growing chaos in his mind almost slowed to a complete halt. He had to shake himself, though, after she first came into view because of the clothes they had purloined the night after their joint escape. It had been something of a must given that, aside from the cape he had wrapped around her, she had been completely naked whereas he himself was at least a century and a half behind the times fashion-wise. Unfortunately the town they flew into seemed to be the biker capitol of the area as there were more biker clothes for sale then anything else. Given that it was almost sunrise and the store owner would soon be along to open shop, neither he nor Lilith had had a lot of time to look around. In the end it had been black boots, black pants, a black halter-top and a black sleeveless trench coat for Lilith. For him though it was pants, boots, a vest and trench coat with the sleeves. Despite the fact that the new clothes had fit perfectly and were a step up from what he had been wearing before there was just one problem.

Both Lilith's new clothes and his own were **leather**.

His mind had been aflame with anger at the mere prospect of imitating Deadboy and apparently his other side was equally upset at the prospect of being mistaken for a Soulboy wannabe. Fortunately once he had aired his concerns to Lilith, she had shown him a handy trick that would make sure he would never have to worry about what he wore again. Using her own clothes as an example she tapped into her power as a True Nosfuratu and changed the color of her outfit from pitch black to blood red. After a few brief instructions along with some trial and error on his part he was eventually able to change the color of his own clothes just as she could. When it came time to choose the color of his clothes red the shade of blood seemed to **feel** right to him in a way he could not put into words. Despite that it made him look like a Dante Sparda impersonator, he was satisfied that he could no longer be taken for a groupie of Lord Forehead's.

"Xander? Are you in there?" Came a familiar voice that snapped him out of his review of past events.

Looking up he saw Lilith standing over him with a blood filled bag in hand and a slightly concerned look on her face.

"Yeah. Just remembering how we got to where we are now," he said as he accepted the blood bag she offered him.

"I've been meaning to ask you about that." Lilith said as she sat herself down on the floor across from him, "I… wanted to… thank you for rescuing me."

He could tell from both the tone of her voice and the miniscule changes in her facial expressions that it was the lack of experience in being able to properly identify her own feelings rather than a tough girl 'never thank anyone for anything' attitude. More of the 'oh so this is what it is like to be sane' situation he had noticed earlier but a little more concealed when she knew he could see her face.

"I only did what I felt I had to, Lilith. After what those assholes did to me, there was no way I could just sit by and let them do something as bad or worse to someone else." Xander replied as comfortingly as he could without making her suspicious of his motives, "Besides, my uninvited tenant provided me with a few more reasons why I should help you. You were a cute kid."

She looked at him in some confusion until he tapped the side of his head.

"You have Tata in your mind?" She asked both for confirmation and as a statement of her own opinion.

"In a way, yes I do. From what I can remember those Nazi idiots wanted to turn me into their own personal Dracula for use against their enemies." Xander replied performing a quick check mentally to be sure of his reply, "But it's more of a copy of his mind and only up to the beginning of that stupid hack Bram Stoker's novel. Anything that happened afterwards and I am totally clueless."

Lilith seemed to take this bit of information in and mull it over a bit before looking at him again. "Then you know of me, of whom I… once was." She said as though she could barely recall what it was like to be human rather than True Nosfuratu.

"Yes. I also know that your dad always felt personally responsible for what happened to you after you were turned." Xander said as he felt the words rise to the top of his mind and all but demand to be spoken, "He never meant for you to feel tormented so by the new life he gave you. He was just afraid of losing the most precious thing in his life to the passage of time."

To this statement a series of emotions crossed over the face of the young woman known to some as Rip Van Winkle. The first was surprise at such a tender and truly regretful apology that she knew did indeed come from the part of her father that resided in Xander. Then came a look of vulnerability as she returned to the past within her mind and remembered those days so many centuries ago and what she had once been. Lastly though was an angry look of denial as she no doubt didn't like being so weak or to be reminded of the moment that made her something other than human. In the end though she simply walked away and left him to his blood while she no doubt tried to banish the past once more from her mind.

_It's probably not a good idea to talk to her about her Daddy anymore._ He thought to himself as he looked down at the blood bag in his hand, _Then again getting a tongue lashing from her might actually be preferable to having to down this stuff._

It had been the other thing that had been a major pink elephant in his mind along with the comparisons between him and Deadboy. Just like the corpse back in Sunnydale, he now needed blood in order to keep his strength up and refusing to drink it would just mean a long, painful existence as he slowly starved to Final Death, not that he expected his refusal to drink blood to last that long, as he could vaguely recall draining Ethan Rayne back in his cell an unknown amount of time ago. Apparently when the thirst came upon him and he was sufficiently plasma-deprived, his new bloodsucker instincts would take over and he'd chow down on the first unfortunate soul that he saw. So he was caught between a rock and hard place, between drinking blood willingly or let his instincts choose make the choices for him, and he knew that in the end he **had** no choice. He knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he came back to himself after falling victim to the thirst only to see the dead body of an innocent or friend in his arms. Deciding that it would probably be best to do it like removing a band-aid, so fast that you can't register the discomfort, he tore a corner of the blood bag and quickly gulped down the contents. For those brief moments he focused only on the process of drinking, of swallowing the blood, not allowing a single conscious thought to cross his mind. Eventually the bag was empty and with the ceasing of the sensation of liquid flowing down his throat his conscious mind caught up with him like a punch to the gut. It took him a moment but he managed to quell the urge to upchuck the blood he had finished drinking mere moments before. When he reached a reliable level of calmness and composure, he stood up and walked over to where Lilith was looking out a window at the moonlit night.

"Where will we go now?" Lilith asked without looking at him.

"You mean to stay with me?" He asked a little surprised that the she-vamp would stay with him now that the necessities had been taken care of for the most part.

"I have nowhere else to go. I will **not** return to Das Millenium." She replied as she turned to face him as if she believed looking him in the eye would convince him of her sincerity, "In any case I am… unused to my mind being so clear. So many years of existing with the uncontrolled whims of an unstable mind has made my current state appear… foreign to me. I… need you."

For a moment his more clownish side was tempted to make a joke of the various ways her last statement could be interpreted. However the voice of Vlad brought that idea to a screeching halt and advised him that it would be better to be a **little** more sensitive with his words or else he'd live just long enough to regret it.

"Very well then. I had planned to go to Prague and try to call my friends back in Sunnydale." Xander replied as he met her gaze to impress his own honesty on her, "They're probably going nuts trying to figure out what happened to me and where I am. After that probably head to the nearest international airport and head home. Of course if you'd prefer I stick around a little longer I can probably convince my friends that I'm taking an extended leave of absence and won't be back for a few weeks."

For a moment she considered his reply and then said, "I would like that."

With that they both fell silent and enjoyed the silent night outside the window of the abandoned house they had chosen to rest in.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_Prague, Viktor's Mansion, Kraven's Office_

_Damn it! What is this feeling?_ Kraven thought to himself as he continued to go over the paperwork involved in the coming awakening ceremony.

It had been over two weeks since this uncomfortable feeling of being stalked had settled into the back of his mind and in the last two days it had actually gotten stronger. Ever since the feeling had first appeared, he had made discreet inquiries to all his contacts and spies around the world for any clue as to the cause but to no avail. All that could be determined from his sources was that a human organization that had been attempting to create artificial vampires was on the move again. That concerned him little, though, as he doubted anything would come of the human's half-baked schemes. While it was true that his breed of vampire was the result of a virus that had been altered within the body of Marcus Corvinus, he doubted very much that the humans could have found a way to replicate the process. Genetic engineering and similar sciences were a fairly recent development in the human world and, as such, hadn't had enough time to advance to the point where artificial copies of the Corvinus breed of vampire were possible.

_Still, once I assume power over the two great Covens, I might want to take over that group soon after the consolidation of power is complete._ Kraven thought as he put his signature at the bottom of a contract, _With only a few modifications to the concept I could use their technology to produce an army of vampires loyal to me alone._

He smiled slightly as he imagined his future army of vampires marching across the world, conquering nation after nation until the whole world was his kingdom. Lucien would probably have a problem with that but then, if all went according to his plan, the Lycan wouldn't be around for more than a few months after the three elders were dead. The foolish beast really thought that he intended to honor the pact they had made so long ago in the werewolf's fortress. In truth, he was quite happy with how the situation had worked out after he returned home with a piece of Lucien's skin in one hand and a smoking torch in the other. He had gone from being just another Death Dealer in Viktor's army to being his right hand man with all the power and wealth that came with that position. One might think that that, combined with the aide the Lycan was providing in the extermination of Amelia, would be enough to at least produce a truce between the vampires and the Lycans. However he was smarter than that and knew that even if he did make peace with Lucien it would only be a matter of time before the werewolf demanded more. It would be better to wipe out the whole mongrel breed than risk a new war erupting so soon after the first had come to an end. He already had made preparations for dealing with any vampires within the two Great Covens who failed to see the 'wisdom' in pledging their loyalty to him. Death Dealers loyal to him would be present at the grand meeting with ultra-violet rounds to deal with the bulk of the rebels and he had men stationed throughout the region at various key points to mop up any who managed to escape the initial cleansing.

Those men were not his elite, though, but they had agreed to support him when the time came provided he allowed them to indulge in some of their more 'unique' practices without opposition. He hadn't bothered to inquire as to what those practices might be, but he had no doubt they were foul and rancid enough to turn his stomach. Still at least they had the intellect to be discreet about their activities rather than parade them around the city for all to see. As long as they conducted their disgusting affairs behind closed doors and disposed of the remains properly he could tolerate keeping them around.

A knock coming from his office door stirred him from his thoughts as he looked up to see who might be paying him a visit at this hour. Personally he hoped it might be Selene on the other side of the door intending to finally accept his offer to stand at his side as his queen. Somehow he doubted it, though, as she had been as cold and insubordinate to him as ever this last few weeks. Still that was part of her allure, part of the reason he found her so attractive, in that she was her own woman and was among the best at what she did, unlike the social ladder-climbing twits like Erika who constantly tried to worm their way into his favor. The blonde Corvinus vampire might be blessed in terms of beauty, to be sure, but was of no use to him as anything other than a bedmate or arm candy. If he was to have a queen by his side, he wanted her to be an asset to him in all the ways that mattered and perhaps fall just a little short of being his equal. After all it would be nice to have someone who could keep up with him intellectually and maybe even make things interesting from time to time attempting to take his throne from him. She would, of course, lose and he would have to punish her for her treachery but such insurrections would keep him on his toes.

As the door opened though he almost sighed in annoyance as he saw that it was only Erika come to once again kiss his feet and stroke his ego, among other things. Half of him wanted to blow her head off and be rid of her annoying company once and for all but he knew that without sufficient cause it would only hurt his reputation among the Coven. So, whether he liked it or not, he would have to endure her presence for the time being and wait until after he became the undisputed ruler of the Covens before terminating her. After all once he became the supreme ruler of the Corvinus vampires he would be able to do pretty much whatever he wanted so long as he kept his primary supporters happy.

_Might as well get this over with!_ Kraven thought with a growl before politely asking "What brings you to my office at this hour Erika?"

&&&(&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_Pardubice, Czech Republic, After Sunset_

"Shall we get a bite to drink Xander?" Lilith asked as she and her new friend strolled down the sidewalk.

"Maybe in a bit dear Lilith." Xander replied as he took in the city before him, "The night's still young so I think we can hold off feeding ourselves at least until we see some of the sights."

Nodding reluctantly in agreement Lilith, formerly known as Lt. Rip Van Winkle of das Millenium, strode side by side with her liberator and something or other. To say that she was still unsure of her new set of circumstances would be quite accurate if a little understated. For untold centuries her mind had been a whirlpool of thoughts, emotions and desires with no control over when they gained control of her or how long they would remain. Even trying to figure out the memories she had of that time was confusing, which was why she tried not to dwell on the past but rather focus on the present she now found herself in. She was free of das Millenium and traveling in the company of one Xander Harris, and young man that Herr Keitel had intended to be a copy of her father, Alucard. He too was free to decide his own fate since the Millenium scientists had not been able to implant certain control chips into his brain before the destruction of the compound. Xander was intent on traveling through Europe to one of the major cities so that he could travel to his hometown in America. She had decided to accompany him because she required a guide to help her through the early stages of her new status as one of the sane. She had no idea how long it would take before she felt comfortable enough with herself and could survive without the recently-created True Nosfuratu's aid or what the future held for her. Oddly enough, she found it refreshing to find her future so full of choices, possibilities she would be free to explore and understand, and she owed it all to Xander.

_If not for him, I likely would have remained a slave of my Millenium masters._ She thought as she watched the young one's reactions to his surroundings, _For that, if nothing else, I owe him a heavy debt. A debt I will repay by helping him to return home._

They proceeded down the sidewalk and once she stopped dwelling on her new mental state, she found that she was actually having a good time seeing the city with new eyes. It had been practically impossible for her in the past to truly appreciate the world around her when her mind was such a maelstrom of chaos. Focus was almost nonexistent and the few times she was able to center her mind on something, it was only by the skin of her teeth. As such admiring the colors or the arrangement of the lights in a city or even looking at clothes in store windows completely passed her by. With the chaos that once consumed her being now all but eliminated it was as if she was seeing things for the first time.

For the next two hours straight they enjoyed all Pardubice had to offer but it was then that a smell wafted in front of both her nose and, judging by the look on Xander's face, his as well. It took a moment for the smell to become strong enough for a positive identification, but it took only a few seconds for them to discern what it was afterwards. Fear. Fear mixed with the faint smell of blood. To some this might be a tad disturbing but not uncommon with the various street crimes and other activities crooks engaged in, but to two True Nosfuratu there was only one thing it could be. It looked like this town had a demon infestation and, given that blood was mixed with the fear, it was in all likelihood vampires of one sort or another. Given that the absence of the feeling in the air that told her when another True Nosfuratu was in the area, this meant that it was likely one of the lesser breeds of vampire that existed. Unlike what many people thought, there was more than one breed of vampire out there, with three being the most dominant. The first and highest was her own breed, the True Nosferatu, the true immortals and most powerful of all. Next came those birthed by the son of Alexander Corvinus that made up for their lesser power with their resourcefulness. Lastly was the despicable demonic breed with their ridged foreheads and glowing golden eyes that were looked upon by the two stronger breeds as trash. Seeing as how she and Xander were fairly close to the home of the Corvinus elder Viktor's domain, it was likely his sort of vampire that was behind the blood and fear tonight.

"Do you smell it Xander?" Asked Lilith as she was not sure how well the young Nosfuratu had gotten used to his new senses and abilities.

"I'd have to have a face full of pepper spray not to Lilith." Xander responded as his eyes looked in the direction the scent was coming from, "However, if the memories I got from your dad are accurate, it is strange that Corvinus vampires would be this sloppy when getting a bite to drink. It's even more out of place these days when there're blood banks around with security that's pathetically easy to bypass."

True enough. Add to that the 'official' laws of the Ordoghaz Coven, which Viktor ruled, were rather specific as to how a Corvinus vampire should seek his/her meal and it was an anomaly for one of them to be so obvious about abducting someone for dinner. Even her father followed strict rules when it came time to feed. While it may be accurate to say that only those with supernatural senses would be able to detect the fear and blood, the fact that there was any blood at all outside of a safe environment would be a problem. After all, if a human merely disappeared without a trace, then they were officially labelled a missing person. However if there were any signs of foul play, such as a suspicious amount of blood, then the victim either became a murder victim or a kidnapping case. Both possibilities would cause the local police and perhaps even the federal authorities to investigate, depending on the number of victims as well as the frequency of the incidents. This was bad news for any breed of vampire as it made getting a decent meal more difficult and could result in terminal repercussions for the troublemakers, depending on what sort of impact the human investigation had on business. So what she and Xander were detecting was odd but, in her opinion, it was none of their affair and would likely be dealt with by whoever led the Coven at the moment.

_It appears though that young Xander has other plans. _Lilith thought as she looked at the growing look of determination and anger growing on the male Nosfuratu's face.

"I take it you wish to investigate?" Lilith asked with a neutral voice that was neither for nor against that course of action.

"Yes. While the memories I gained from Alucard have made me a little less angry at feeding on humans, particularly those that the world would be better off without, I **will** **not** tolerate those who prey upon humans simply because they can." Xander replied as he began to walk at a brisk pace towards the source of the scent, "Besides, as you probably know, Vikky tends to frown on his underlings making trouble like this for him. Who knows? Maybe he'll put us up for the night if we bring him the heads of the ones responsible for this."

Dubious that Viktor's reaction to the delivery of deceased members of his Coven, she still chose to follow him if only to provide more recent data on vampire society. After all, from what she could tell, Xander's knowledge ended about when her father was enslaved by the members of the Van Hellsing family. That was over a century ago and a great deal had happened in that amount of time. Powers had shifted, rules had been changed and customs had either been created or abandoned. Even the soldiers of das Millenium were told to be aware of these rules when in a certain region to minimize potential problems during their stay there. While she hadn't been one to care about such things during her less sane days, she had still been aware of them. Still Viktor always was one to live the past, so it was unlikely that his laws had gone under any major revisions since they were originally laid down over seven hundred years ago, and most likely amendments added on were the only changes with them dealing with the changes in human technology and society. All in all, so long as she and Xander didn't wind up making an even bigger mess than these rogues were creating, Viktor should be pleased enough to have one less problem to deal with.

It took a while, in some cases they were forced to pick up the pace or risk losing the scent, but eventually they arrived at a warehouse owned by some medical company. This indicated even further that the Corvinus vampires had access or at least had a contact within a prominent medical company and could easily acquire human plasma instead of going directly to the source. If Xander's suspicions about these vampires were correct, that they were feeding upon humans simply because they could, then they were no better than the trash and would be dealt with as such. After Xander did a poor bat imitation with his hands and pointed to the roof of the warehouse they both exploded into a flock of bats that flew to their destination before fusing back together. Once done it took only a moment for both of them to find a skylight and even less time to crouch down next to it in order to take a look inside. The fools inside hadn't even had the intellect to put paint on the windows or use modern science to use glass that would protect them from the sunlight that was lethal to their kind.

_Obviously we're dealing with the cannon fodder of Viktor's Coven._ Lilith thought as she peered through the skylight to see what she could see.

What she saw was enough to make her face curl in disgust and anger whereas, with Xander, she could feel the waves of fury rolling away from him with each one being stronger than the last. Inside the warehouse was no pristinely kept storage facility or factory that met all the local, as well as federal, health and safety standards. No inside the warehouse was nothing less then a den of debauchery and decadence where members of the undead could satisfy whatever appetites they possessed no matter how grotesque they were. Humans of various ages and both genders hung from chains in the ceiling or were tied down to various pieces of furniture all about the building. Milling about from one area to another were about fifty Corvinus vampires of both genders and all of them were taking their time either torturing or feeding on the helpless humans restrained before them. Most of them she recognized as being a part of the group of Corvinus vampires called 'Death Dealers', but there were some aristocrats there as well. The one thing that united the two castes of the Covens was that both were gorging themselves on their victims seemingly doing whatever struck their fancy at the moment.

_These **filth**! Have they no **pride**!_ Lilith thought as, no matter where she looked through the skylight, was a scene that repulsed her greatly, _I now know why father was so upset during my brief rampages and massacres in my early centuries as a True Nosfuratu. These curs are no better than beasts! Worse than beasts for they do this not out of hunger or self-preservation but simply to satisfy their sick desires!_

Then without warning she felt a sharp spike in the amount of dark energy Xander was putting out. Looking up to ask him what was the matter, she was awe struck as she witnessed the physical changes his growing fury were having on him. Where before there was merely a look of unrestrained anger, a look possible for any human to imitate, now his crimson eyes glowed like the red suns and his hair moved as though it had a life of its own. While there were subtle differences she recognized what was happening for she had seen something similar happen to her father once long ago. Much like all beings whose power comes from within, their strength was tied to their emotions and thus, even without speaking any incantations or making the requisite gestures, they could still wield it to a degree. However power used in such a manner was wild and chaotic with barely enough control to choose a direction or distance for it to travel. It had been long ago, when her father had lost his second wife, the mother of Adrian, that she had first witnessed what reaction such all-consuming fury could have on a True Nosfuratu. It went without saying that those not smart or swift enough to flee did not survive the No Life King's wrath, but instead were given ample time to regret their actions as he slowly tortured them to death.

Seeing Xander was quickly reaching such a state she looked down to see what had caused such a massive surge in him. Looking about the room she tried to spy the one thing that had changed in the last few moments, the one thing that could feasibly have been the final straw for her companion. She found it two minutes later and when she did Lilith could feel her own anger growing and evolving into fury. Beaten and bloody, dragged by her hair across the room, was a young girl that looked to barely have entered puberty trying in vain to free herself from her captor. She watched in a growing fury as the male Corvinus vampire dragging her threw her hard by the hair against the far wall of the warehouse. It was clear by his body language that he was getting pissed at the young girl for being so much trouble. However it was when the Death Dealer gestured for two others to hold her that it became clear to both watching True Nosfuratu that the **filth** had had enough and was getting ready to teach the child a lesson.

That, however, was the one mistake that all of the Corvinus vampires within would come to regret greatly before their immortal existences were cut short.

Not even bothering with words Xander stood and leapt down through the skylight, his trench coat fluttering loose like a pair of bat wings, to mete out unholy vengeance upon the decadent vampires below. Vengeance for those humans that had suffered and died in this warehouse. Vengeance for those that were still suffering and to make sure that no one ever tried something like this again. Without hesitation she followed him with a shark's smile as she tried to imagine the carnage that would soon erupt within this building. While she might no longer be the insane True Nosfuratu she once was, she would enjoy this greatly and show Xander how they did it in the old country.

_Father would be proud!_ She thought as she saw the floor of the warehouse rising rapidly below her.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&(&&&&


	4. Inspectors and Intentions

_**Inside the Warehouse, Just Before the Shattering of the Skylight, **_

The Barely Teenage Girl's Point of View 

"Please! Please! Let me go! I promise I'll never try to steal again," pleaded Sorina as she was roughly pulled off the floor by the two monsters in black trench coats and held there.

"Oh, most definitely, little one! In fact, I can guarantee that you will be doing **nothing** at all for the rest of your life," said the man who had dragged her into the building by her hair in a playful tone. "All five minutes of it!"

This only made it harder for her to keep from breaking down into tears and only what willpower and stubborn nature she had prevented her from doing that, which would no doubt please her captors greatly. Amidst the revolutions of fear growing within her, she had to ask herself: how could this be happening to her? Unfortunately her mind was all too prompt in providing an answer for her and it all came down to a single bad choice. Ever since she lost her parents in a fire, she had been living on the streets, doing whatever she could bring herself to do to survive another day. She knew that this wasn't the only option for her, that she could just do what the police wanted and go to live with her aunt and uncle, but to her that would be the same as being executed. She knew that her mother's sister and her aunt's husband didn't like her and had never really been close to her parents. However, as far as the law was concerned, they were her closest living relatives, so that meant that they would be the best people to become her guardians. It was pretty much a bad joke as far as she was concerned that those two could have the term guardian applied to them. She knew that the moment that the people from social services left, they'd have her doing every menial chore they could come up with and beat her if she didn't do it perfectly. It wouldn't matter to them if the job they assigned was impossible for one her age to accomplish and any attempt to point this out to them would just make the beatings worse. All in all, going to live with her aunt and uncle would be hell, so living on the streets was definitely a preferable choice. While some days were worse than others, there were also days that were almost great as far as she was concerned.

_Today, though, would definitely rank someplace sixty feet below horrible. _She thought as she tried in vain to free her arms from her captors.

Today had been 'pick pocketing day' for her, where she spent most of the day and the evening marking suitable people for money liberation and then taking what she needed. She did it about once a month and made sure that by the time she was done that she had enough money or pawnable valuables to last her until next time. Sadly, the pickings today had been less than great, which is what had led to this situation because she had chosen the monster advancing on her as a target. It had been her opinion that his coat had been fancy looking enough that he had to be fairly rich and, like most rich people, they'd be too stupid to keep the amount of money he had on him to a minimum. She had pictured him having a nice roll of bills that would be enough to let her cut 'pick pocketing day' short and maybe even sleep in when the next one came around. However, what had happened next pretty much made sure that if she got out of this in one piece, she'd stick to the naïve tourists from this day forward.

She had decided to go with her 'running from the scary men' routine, in which she would come barreling around a corner ahead of her target, slam into him yelling about the bad people chasing her and while the target was busy looking for the approaching bad people, she would reach into the most likely pocket and grab whatever was there before running off. With her knowledge of all the crawl ways and hiding places in the area, it should have been a piece of cake to take what she needed and then play keep away with the monster for the next few hours. In most cases the people she used this tactic on eventually gave up out of sheer frustration after the first hour of chasing her, which left her with some time to counter her catch before moving on to the next person. This time, however, her hand hadn't even gotten into the pocket before the monster had clamped down on her wrist with inhuman strength. She had tried to come up with some kind of feasible reason why she'd been reaching for his pocket but he didn't believe her for a second. Then he had gotten this weird look in his eyes that had caused the fear of being caught to transform into the fear of something far worse. Her fear growing, she had started to scream for help, hoping that that would get the monster to let go out of shock, allowing her to escape, but a freakishly strong punch to her stomach had put a stop to that. She had lost consciousness soon after and it had only been outside of this warehouse that she had come too, wondering what she had done to have this happen to her.

_I guess God really was serious with the 'thou shalt not steal' part, _had been her thought upon entering the warehouse and seeing the horrors that resided inside.

Each horrific scene she saw had only caused her to struggle more and more against being dragged by her hair further into the den of blood, and it had gotten to the point where she didn't care if she wound up losing a few clumps of hair so long as she got free in the end. However her struggles had apparently annoyed the monster, causing him to throw her against a wall and knocking the breath clear out of her lungs. That, of course, brought her to where she was right now and with each step the monster took towards her, she felt certain that only an angel from on high would be able to save her now.

Almost as if in answer to her prayer, the sound of shattered glass filled the air and, from a skylight in the ceiling of the warehouse, a crimson-clad shape dropped to the floor. The being landed on the floor like a cat, making no more noise than one would if one simply hopped off a chair, which made no sense given the height it really did fall from. Less than a second later a second being landed behind the first, a bit shorter but no less graceful as it didn't make much noise landing either, both rising and standing before the shocked gathering of monsters as if nothing had happened. She couldn't see their faces and wondered if these were truly the angels she had wished for, or if they were just a pair of monsters drawn to the smell of blood in this place. She could only hope that these new arrivals would somehow benefit her because, otherwise, she might just impale herself on one of those nearby spikes and make her death a quick one.

"And just who are you two?" Asked a monster clad in a fine suit with a tone that made it clear that quick answers would be the best for the sake of the newcomers, "This place is invite only."

"Pest control. Divison six. We received reports from the locals of a rather foul smell coming from this place and suspected there was an infestation here," the first being replied, sounding quite playful and disrespectful to the suit-wearing monster. "From the looks of things, it's even worse than we'd been told, eh, Lilith?"

"The place is crawling with the unclean vermin, Alexander! Someone really should have called us in on this sooner." The second being, a woman apparently named Lilith, replied with utter disgust in her voice as she looked about the room.

"True. Property values do tend to plummet when word gets around of a large vermin lair nearby." Alexander stated with a disappointed shake of his head, "Can't say I blame them now that I've seen it for myself."

"Look, I don't know who you crazies are, but you've got five seconds to get the hell out of here before we decide to throw a few more meat bags on the fire." Mr. Monster Suit declared angrily at both being disrespected and being forgotten about after the first exchange, "One… two… three…"

Then, in the blink of an eye, no, faster than that she realized, both beings that had so recently dropped down from the skylight vanished, only to reappear in front of Mr. Monster Suit. However, what somehow managed to top the shock of their inhuman speed was the sight of a hand sticking out of the back of Mr. Monster Suit's head as well as the left side of his chest.

"Four, five is how I believe it ends," growled Alexander before he tore off Mr. Monster Suit's head, his companion tearing out the monsters rib cage with similar ease.

The crowd of monsters in the warehouse looked to be quite shocked by all of this and that was odd, given what acts of savagery they had been committing before the arrival of the two beings. With a casual flick of their hands, the two beings sent what was left of Mr. Monster Suit flying through the air before it hit the floor and rolled into a shadowed corner.

"Yech! I much prefer the demon breed of vampire over this variety, Lilith!" Alexander said with distinct disgust, "At least when they die, they go 'poof' and don't leave this much mess behind. Still, it's a dirty job and someone's got to do it, right? So let's get to it!"

As if a troublesome connection had finally been made in the minds of the monsters scattered throughout the room, they sprung into action, some going for weapons while the others attempted to leave through the ground level exits. It only went so far as 'attempted', though, because the moment one of them came within two feet of an exit, the shadows nearby sprang to life and leapt out towards the doors, swallowing them whole. Despite not being able to see the doors, the monsters still tried frantically to find and open them, but judging by their increasing state of unease, they weren't having any luck.

"Oh no! We can't have any of you leave the party this soon!" Alexander said in a sadistic tone of voice, "After all, the **fun's** just about to start!"

Without warning she found her arms free from the grasp of the monsters that had moments ago held them firm for their fellow creature. Not one to pass up an opportunity, she ran for the nearest sturdy piece of furniture she could find and crawled under it for safety. She stuck close to the edges of the thick table, however, because even though she was afraid, something within her compelled her to witness the battle that would follow. Something compelled her to witness the destruction of these monsters at the hands of the two beings and so, with eyes open and attention fixed, she watched.

As little more than blurs, the two beings that crashed through the skylight went from one side of the room to another, killing all the monsters they came across in increasingly bloody displays of power. One monster attempted to decapitate Alexander with a lance from a nearby wall but, in a blur of motion, the blade portion was cut from the pole and, in a single motion, Alexander took ahold of it then sent it back at the monster. It struck the creature in the throat and nearly severed the monster's head but instead only paralyzed it from the neck down, causing it to fall like a puppet with its strings cut. The one Alex called Lilith, in the meantime, seemed to be slinking towards her prey as though seducing them but, by now, all who saw this knew that it was pain and death rather than pleasure that she would bestow on them. A perfect example of this being when she grabbed one of the monsters and threw it at a wall with enough strength to bury it almost to elbow level and then threw a second right at the first with such speed that **it** became **buried** in the first creature up to the waist. A most ridiculous thought came through her mind that Lilith was trying to stick the second creature's head up the first ones ass but she disregarded that when the battle took a different turn.

By this time, by some stroke of luck, some of the creatures had managed to reach a stockpile of guns and had armed themselves from top to bottom. Now she was no gun expert and could barely tell a handgun from a rifle, but she could tell that the firearms that the creatures now had were military-level hardware. With the sounds of guns being cocked and bullets being chambered, Alexander and Lilith stopped in place in order to look in the direction of the new development.

That proved to be a mistake.

It was a mistake because, the moment the two of them stopped moving, the creatures began emptying everything their weapons had in the general direction of the Alex and Lilith. A thick storm of lead flew through the air and while some shots did fly wide of their designated targets, most did hit their target, tearing holes in flesh and sending blood everywhere. For half a minute the barrage of lead continued and, by the time that the creatures stopped in order to see whether or not they had succeeded, both Alexander and Lilith were little more then shredded body parts. Seconds ticked by and, when there was no sign of further movement from them, the creatures began to cheer and slap each other on the backs in victory. For her, though, it was a moment of despair because she knew that with the defeat of Alexander and Lilith, it was only a matter of time before the creatures would turn their attention to her and Death would come to claim her. As if all life, all emotion had vanished, her body remained as motionless as a statue, awaiting its inevitable end.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!" Laughter. From nowhere and yet everywhere, laughter that sounded more than a little unhinged came that stopped the victory celebrations of the creatures right in its tracks and caused the monsters to freeze like deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming train.

As one, just about every person in the room, her included, looked about the room for the source of the laughter but there was nothing there but the creatures. However as her eyes passed over the main entrance to the warehouse, she noticed something odd that gave her an inkling of who might be laughing. The door, the one that had been swallowed up by the darkness, thus preventing the creatures from escaping, was still covered by shadow. She was certain that the removal of all the entrances and exits had been Alexander's doing, since he seemed to be the more dominate of the pair, but if he and his companion were dead then the doors should have returned. It was only logical, right? So if the they were all still enshrouded by darkness then…

_Can't be! _She thought as she snapped her head in the direction of what had been Alexander and Lilith.

Against all laws of nature, physics or reality, her suspicions were proven true as she watched the pool of blood, that had up until a few seconds ago been flowing outwards from the remains, begin to reverse direction. As if being drawn in by a vacuum cleaner, the blood flowed back to beings it belonged to and, as it reduced to half of what it had been before on the floor, another startling thing caught her attention. The limbs, the ones that had been shot clean off and had been strewn about the immediate area surrounding the spot where Alexander and Lilith had been standing, were turning into smoke, only to reform as well as reattach themselves to where they belonged. Her mind boggled at what she was seeing and, for the life of her, she could not conceive of a valid theory as to how this was being done. Before a minute had passed, both Alexander and Lilith's body had almost completely reformed with only a few bits and pieces had yet to rejoin the main mass. Watching as both seemingly invulnerable beings pushed themselves to their feet, she knew right then that the time in this world for the monsters was now over.

_Time for them to be sent straight to hell for the suffering they've caused!!_ She thought with a feral, vengeful smile as she watched eagerly to see what would happen next.

"Whistle That was quite a bit of firepower you sent at us boys!" Alexander said mockingly as he made a show of brushing nonexistent dirt off of his coat, "On anyone else it would have turned them into hamburger, but I'm afraid it'll take more than that to kill me and Lilith. Let's see if you lot are as durable, **shall WE!?**"

Alexander then thrust his hand out towards a rack of implements, the same ones the monsters had been using on their victims, and as though they were being lifted by ghosts, the blades rose into the air. Then, as though not satisfied, Alex thrust out his other hand in the opposite direction and called another assortment of weapons to rise from their places and join the first. Curious as to what the monsters would be doing in the face of such an ominous display, she was surprised to find them acting as though their feet were stuck to the floor. It was only when she looked down at said feet of monsters that she noticed an unnatural mass of blackness around their feet with tentacles wrapped securely around the footwear above it. Was Alexander doing this? Or was Lilith somehow keeping them in place for her friend? She concluded that there was no real way of telling one way or the other, so she decided to believe that it was Lilith helping her companion. Looking back upwards, she wondered if Alex had finally been satisfied with the multitude of weapons now at his command. As soon as she finished raising her head, she almost didn't notice her jaw dropping in shock at the sight before her eyes. Filling the air above everyone was an uncountable mass of weapons that had to have been taken from every available rack, chest and case in the entire building. Not only that, but there were shards of glass, steel and wood amidst the mass of deadly objects that all possessed fine points to them. She was certain her eyes must have been playing tricks on her, they had to be, but it looked like there wasn't more than two or three inches between each weapon in any direction.

"There! I believe the number of weapons I now have at my disposal now equals the number of bullets you and your fellows sent at Lilith and I." Alexander declared, sounding quite satisfied with himself, "Time to see if you're all **sharp** enough to survive my onslaught!"

Without saying another word, Alex threw both of his hands forward and, like the bullets the weapons were chosen to retaliate for, they shot towards their targets with unspeakable speed and yet not a bit of sound. To say that the actions of the monsters had been paid back in full would have been an understatement in the extreme for not only were most of the monsters torn to shreds, but also no piece of them that remained was bigger than a plum. Bleeding, meaty plums to be sure, but plum-sized bits none the less. Smiling with glee and vengeance satisfied, she was in the process of getting out from underneath her cover when she noticed that five out of the twenty some that had been targeted still lived, albeit with serious wounds. Had they evaded the attack somehow? Or had Alexander missed them on purpose for some reason? She received the first inkling to her answer when Alex walked across the room to one of the monsters struggling to get to his feet somehow. Unfortunately Alexander wanted the man's complete attention so, with a sharp kick, her male rescuer took the monster's left leg clean off, sending him to the floor with a howl of pain. This was paired with another howl as a brutal stomp on the knee of the monster's right leg pretty much reduced the bones beneath the flesh to paste.

"I hope I have your **complete** attention now, Corvenus vampire." Alexander said with false politeness and respect, "Now you and I are going to play a little **game**. I'm going to ask a question and then you are going to give me an honest answer. However, if I think you're lying, I turn another bone of yours into mush. Understand?"

"Y-yes!" The male monster managed to get out despite the pain he was obviously feeling at the moment.

"Good! Now, how about you tell me how the ruler of the local Coven can permit such **low breed** behavior in his subjects. Last I recall, Viktor frowned on such **sickening** displays of **savagery**." Alexander said, making it clear what his opinion of the warehouse's function was with no room for misinterpretation.

"I-it's K-KRAVEN!!" The male creature replied going from normal volume to a yell as a sharp spike of pain went through him, "He's got a p-plan in the works! H-he said if we helped him take over, we'd no longer have to follow any laws but his OWN!"

"Kraven… ah yes, the ambitious little second in command of Viktor, I remember him now!" Alexander said with amusement as his memory put a face to the name, "Still possessing delusions of grandeur, I see. When will that boy learn that it takes **POWER** as well as cunning to rule. Now, tell me more about this plan."

For a moment the male monster hesitated as though he was more fearful of Kraven's wrath then Alexander's wrath. Fortunately a savage stomp on the man's forearm cleared up that little problem rather quickly.

"A m-m-meeting of the C-covens is due to happen within a few days! W-when the Elder Amelia w-will turn over rule of the vampire Covens to M-Marcus." The male monster replied as it no doubt tried to force his reply past his pain, "That's when we s-strike! K-Kraven's got something worked out with someone named Lucien. L-Lucian will dispose of Amelia, then K-Kraven will destroy Marcus and Viktor leaving him the sole ruler of all Corvenus vampires!"

For a moment it looked as though Alexander was going to crush another limb beneath his foot, but then in an act completely unexpected he threw back his head and laughed the laugh of a person of questionable mental stability. This went on for a while and apparently got to the point where Alex had to clutch his stomach because of his laughter. Eventually, though, he apparently got himself under control as the laughter faded and a semblance of sanity returned to his features.

"Ah, that Kraven! He certainly has some interesting ideas about his future." Alexander said with genuine amusement and humor, "I think I'll go pay him a visit and let him know how much I enjoy seeing his little scheme unfold. First, though, I have to let him know I'm coming, since it would be **rude** to just show up at the mansion without any warning. Now, **how** should I do that?"

Alexander walked about in a circle for a moment, taking in the room every now and then, before his eyes widened and a look of sadistic humor blossomed on his face.

"Tell me Lilith… did your father ever teach you about the more inventive uses for pikes?" Alexander asked with a smile on his face and a look in his eyes that said he knew them all.

Suffice it to say that what happened next was not for the faint of heart nor those who get sick at the sight of blood and it lasted right up until dawn itself.

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Hellsing Mansion, London, England, Noon 

"Sir Hellsing? I believe you may wish to take a look at this." Walter said as he entered her office at such a fast clip that she knew instantly that something important had happened.

It had been a little over two weeks since the disturbing incident involving Alucard's momentary lapse in control over his abilities, and their progress in understanding **why** it happened was going slowly, far too slowly for her liking. They were all but certain that the remnants of the Millennium organization were behind it, as there were few groups on Earth capable of casting spells capable of having such a potent effect on the No Life King. The abduction of Alexander Harris, a young man allied with Rupert 'Ripper' Giles, was also suspected of playing a role in the event, although what that role could have been was uncertain. She had assigned Walter and his team of researchers to look for any rituals, ceremonies or spells that would require someone matching Harris but nothing significant had come of it. Unless, of course, it was this hurried entrance into her office that signaled a breakthrough in the research, but considering that her retainer was heading around her desk in order to access her computer, she doubted it. An abundance of keystrokes later and a sifting through a website later Walter brought up a European news stations website and, with a single click of the mouse, brought up what was apparently a live news broadcast.

"This is Tracy Wong, reporting to you live from the warehouse district of Pardubice in the Czech Republic where a sight not seen out of a horror film has the people of this city looking over their shoulder even in broad daylight. It was early this morning, just after dawn, that a passing truck driver discovered something truly horrendous on his way to deliver his shipment to a nearby electronics building," stated the Asian woman who looked a little ruffled even though she did her best to conceal it. "What he saw was five bodies, all of them burned almost to the bone, impaled on metal pikes in a manner almost identical to the method used by Vlad the Impaler centuries ago. The only difference being, according to confidential sources, was that three of the five were apparently impaled multiple times before the perpetrator was satisfied. Whether the impalement occurred before or after these people were burned alive is not known, but it is safe to say that they may very well have deserved their fate.

"While local authorities were quick to cordon off the entire area, this reporter was able to acquire this exclusive footage of the inside of the warehouse which the victims were impaled in front of. I warn you that what you are about to see is graphic and if you have any children present, you should send them to another room immediately." Ms. Wong said, waiting a full ten seconds before playing footage, "As you can see this place can only be described as a torture chamber where numerous people, ranging from teenagers to the elderly, underwent extreme and often fatal sessions of pain. Given the presence of several pieces of furniture more at home at an expensive mansion, one has to wonder just who committed these horrible acts and why. One thing is for certain, though, and that is the fact that these heinous acts have been perpetrated for many years.

"This reporter has made numerous attempts to contact the local police commissioner as well as the detectives rumored to have been assigned the case, but there has been no response as of yet. This is not surprising since it must be quite a black mark on the records of the entire local police force for something of this nature to have happened right under their noses without them being the wiser." Tracy said before the screen began to get static-filled and the reporter became aware of it, "Apparently the local government is so eager to cover up this caper of carnage that they are right now attempting to block our broadcast signal. We will attempt to gather more information on this story and report it to you as soon as we can establish a solid broadcast signal. For the Associated Press, this is Tracy Wong reporting from Pardubice in the Czech Republic, signing off."

With that, the local authorities apparently succeeded in blocking the transmission as the screen went snow white with static. Having recorded everything, Walter immediately rewound the report until a clear image of the five impaled bodies was displayed on her screen. Indeed it was the most telling image of the entire news broadcast as it gave her an inkling of an idea as to who might have caused it, as well as why. The reporter had not been far off the mark when she compared the impalements to those done by Vlad the Impaler and she would know. As head of the Hellsing organization, she was well-versed in the history of vampires and other demonic entities, both native to the United Kingdom and abroad. She was well aware of the Corvenus breed of vampire, which these five obviously were since the demonic breed turned to ash when killed and True Nosfuratu could not be slain in this manner, and from the images of the inside of the warehouse she had her suspicions as to what group the five corpses had belonged to. There were rumors of a group among the Corvenus breed that took pleasure in torturing humans, who took pride in surpassing their fellows in causing pain, and did not care what happened to the remains of their victims. What was puzzling, though, was that the majority of these sort of vampires considered the butchers outcasts at the very least and a threat to their secrecy at most, therefore, it seemed odd that the current ruler of the Corvenus vampire Covens would permit such vulgarity in their subjects.

"Walter, who is the Corvenus vampire currently in charge of that city?" She asked her friend and confidante without looking away from the screen.

"The steward of the Covens, Kraven I believe his name is." Walter promptly replied with less than a second of pause between recollecting and speaking.

"And it appears that he is still the incompetent I remember him to be," came the contempt-filled voice of Alucard as the No Life King phased through the wall to the left of her. "At least Viktor understood the necessity of culling the weak and depraved from his kind every so often."

"What do you make of this Alucard?" she asked her pet monster indicating that he should inspect the image on her computer screen.

"What I make of it is that apparently someone shares my opinion of lowborn trash like that who drown themselves in their own vulgar desires as well as how they should be dealt with. Excellent technique!" Alucard replied as he took on the body language of someone critiquing a work of art, "It might have taken him a few tries, but he eventually got the hang of it. His partner wasn't all that bad either, though obviously in need of practice."

"Partner?" She inquired, seeing nothing in the image on her computer screen to indicate the number of perpetrators.

"It takes someone who has actual experience in such matters to see the difference between a single artist at work and one who has a student with him." Alucard replied in a tone that made it clear he took pride in his past acts of impalement, "It also takes a person of experience to be able to recognize the work of others as well as their own. I believe we now know what it was that Nazi rabble tried, and apparently succeeded, in doing seventeen days ago, my Master."

It took less than two seconds to connect what Alucard had just said to what they knew of the situation involving the Millennium organization and she did **not** like what the No Life King was implying. If she was interpreting his words correctly, which she was if that manic smile on his face was anything to go by, then somehow the survivors of Hitler's occult research branch had successfully managed to create a copy of Alucard. How exact this copy was she could not tell from one image alone, but anything even approaching a complete success did not sit well with her **at ALL**. Since the former count's capture and enslavement, he had served as the Hellsing organization's trump card against all the vampires and demons had to throw against the United Kingdom. To know that there could very well be another true Nosfuratu of Alucard's power out there that was not under the restrictions of Control Arts was ominous. While she could not conceive of a purpose behind the attack on the Corvenus vampires from the standpoint of this copy Alucard being under the control of the Millennium organization, that didn't mean that there wasn't one.

"Walter, I want all our operatives in that region to begin conducting covert surveillance of the Corvenus vampires in that area. Whatever is responsible for this… **display**… it is unlikely that we have seen the end of it all." She ordered, deciding that for the moment watching from afar would be more informative than intervening.

"Indeed not, my Master. In fact I dare say that we are looking at the beginning of some truly interesting times." Alucard said with a voice laced with excitement and amusement, "After all, the young can be so **industrious** when properly motivated. Isn't that right, **Mina**?"

In response to this, the shadows that existed in her office seemed to darken as well as deepen before admitting a dark haired woman in black slacks, tan blouse and brown shoes. However it was when one saw her eyes, eyes that flickered from sea blue to blood red, that truly identified who it was that had entered the office. While the woman had had very little contact with the Hellsing organization since its founding, Wilhelmina Harker did call from time to time but this was only for two reasons, for the most part. The first pertained to her unique condition as a Dhampir, a being who was half vampire and half human but vastly superior to a ghoul, and a search for a way to become completely human once more. It had been something each leader of the Hellsing family had tried to do ever since the woman had first fallen victim to Dracula, but thus far the lack of success on that front had been discouraging. The other reason was to inquire as to whether or not the No Life King was still trapped in servitude to the bloodline that had defeated him. It was likely the only comfort the woman took from that entire affair, that the monster that was the cause of her current condition was suffering just as she was, and was usually unhappy if she was told that Alucard had been allowed out of his cell for any length of time.

"Welcome to Hellsing manor Ms. Harker. I take it that this is not a social visit?" She asked, trying to remain polite yet professional.

"I came for information, Sir Hellsing, and based on what you were discussing with **him** when I arrived, I believe you have what I need." Mina replied with extra venom when indicating Alucard, "Tell me why it is that I sense two of **him** now in this world."

"Looking for a new husband already, Mina? I wonder what dear Jonathan would say about that were he here." Alucard asked with eyes aglow with the amusement he no doubt wish to gain from needling his almost fourth bride.

To this Mina Harker only glared at the source of her unnatural state, her eyes staying a glowing red, but did nothing more as she no doubt knew it would only serve to amuse the No Life King further.

_This is not going to be pleasant. _She thought to herself as she felt the beginnings of a headache coming on, _However, it is better that she get what she came for and leave rather than tempt fate by keeping her and Alucard in the same city for very long._

"If you would sit down, Ms. Harker, I shall do my best to brief you on the situation as it stands now." She said as she took a cigarillo from her desk drawer and lit it.

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The Headquarters of the Watchers Council, The Other Side of Town, Meeting Room 

"We have come to a dangerous turning point in the history of our world, my friends." Quinton Travers, who sat at the head of the large rectangular table at the center of the room, said, "As you have just seen in this news broadcast, there is sufficient evidence to suggest that our precognitive division spoke the truth when it declared that a 'No Life Prince' has been born. What we must decide now is how to deal with this turn of events."

There was a period of silence after this before one Watcher, an Irene Adler, chose to voice her opinion of the situation.

"Considering that all of the members of the precog division either died or slipped into a coma after delivering their predictions to us, I do not think it wise to put too much stock in their words." Adler said, trying to sound confident in her position, "Based on the evidence, it is clear they were being bombarded with an overwhelming amount of information in a brief period of time. It is not entirely unfeasible to say that they may have gotten some of their facts wrong."

"I truly wish that were the case, Ms. Adler, truly I do, but given what our sources in Romania told me two days ago, I do believe we **are** dealing with a No Life Prince. According to them, there was an incident of sorts at a 'drug company' rumored to have ties to the Millennium organization in which the entire facility exploded." Quinton said, sounding as though he truly respected the woman's opinion but dismissing it just the same, "While the majority of the materials and records within the facility were destroyed in the ensuing fire, our Romanian agents were able to salvage a fifteen second recording from an external security camera."

With the flick of a switch, a black and white view of the front of a massive facility could be seen and when the time coding on the footage reached the five second mark two people could be seen exiting the facility. The taller and obviously male one was carrying a smaller female one, who apparently was clothed only in a cape that was wrapped around her body. The pair only got as far as the bottom left of the security camera's field of vision before a third figure emerged from a side door of the facility. It was then however that the footage became garbled before finally winking out entirely, indicating either the camera's destruction or the end of what the Romanian operatives could recover.

"While we were not able to get a clear view of the face of the man carrying the woman out of the building, we have been able to enlarge and enhance the woman's face enough to make an eighty-two percent positive identification." Travers said before hitting another switch, causing two images to appear on the screen, "The one on your left his a enlarged and enhanced image of the woman's face from the recovered security footage whereas the one on the right comes from files we 'acquired' from the Hellsing Organization. While the distance from the camera made a crystal clear image of the woman impossible, I am sure you can all see for yourselves the similarities."

Indeed they all could see that the woman recorded being carried out of the drug company in Romania did look almost exactly like the photograph on the right labeled '1st Lt. Rip Van Winkle'. While little was known about Winkle, she was for certain a member of the Millennium organization and was present at conflict between her fellows and the combined forces of both the Hellsing Organization as well as Iscariot. It was however something of a puzzling fact to see her alive, metaphorically speaking of course, since last report had her being slain by Sir Integra's attack dog Alucard. Either the report was mistaken with regards to her demise or the occult branch of Hitler's army had decided to create a copy. Neither possibility was encouraging, given what it implied either about Rip Van Winkle's abilities or about what the Millennium group was capable of at present.

"Given how this group reportedly deals with failure, it is reasonable to hypothesize that Lieutenant Winkle was being experimented upon since her use in the field had been brought into question. Given her apparent weakened state, as shown by the fact that she had to be carried from the facility, it is safe to say the man carrying her was primarily responsible for their escape." Travers said as he clicked off the TV screen, "I don't think I need to point out how difficult that would be, given what measures they likely took to keep their experiments under control. With all this varying information, I believe it wiser to err on the side of caution and assume that what our precogs told us is accurate."

"Perhaps we could turn this to our advantage," said Robert Price in a speculative tone of voice.

"What do you mean Robert?" Travers asked with curiosity.

"Well, it's just that it has been a concern of mine that with the escalating nature of the conflict between the Millennium group and the Hellsing Organization that we are starting to lag behind a bit." Mr. Price replied a bit unsteadily due to his sudden position in the spotlight, "After all, Hellsing has Alucard and his Mideon childe, Iscariot has Paladin Alexander Anderson and Yumiko Takagi but we have only the Slayer. Even given the fact that there are two now rather than the traditional one, neither Slayer Summers nor Slayer Lehane are strong enough to be considered a match for the enforcers of Iscariot or Hellsing."

"Your point being, Mr. Price?" Travers stated coldly as he didn't like being reminded of the two Slayers in Sunnydale.

"My point is what if we took a page from the Hellsing Organization's book and attempted to seal this 'No Life Prince' to our service. I grant you that there are some inherent risks in such a venture, but should we succeed we would have sufficient power to deal with both Iscariot and Hellsing on more even ground." Robert stated, sounding more confident as he realized how it might benefit him should his idea work.

"You're forgetting the fact that the secret of how Alucard was bound to the Hellsing bloodline is a complete mystery with the knowledge known only to the current head of the family." Minvera Watson pointed out with obvious dislike of the idea proposed by Robert, "Then, of course, there is the problem of being able to pin down this 'No Life Prince' long enough for the binding ritual to take effect. If this being possesses even one tenth the strength of Alucard, it will mean serious losses in manpower one way or another."

Murmurs of agreement flowed about the room, making Robert Price look like he was wishing he had kept his mouth shut. Travers, on the other hand, had a speculative look in his eyes that almost immediately vanished when the chance of it being spotted by others arose.

"In any case it is clear that we must intensify our intelligence gathering considerably in order to ensure that the potential threat that this 'No Life Prince' poses to our cause is minimized. Each department is expected to devote the bulk of their resources to learning all they can about him and where he may go in the future." Travers stated as he rose from his seat in a subtle sign that the meeting was about to come to a close, "Despite the dangers you pointed out, Ms. Watson, I want you to consult our mystical resources for a means of either weakening this Nosferatu or at least protecting ourselves from his powers."

"Yes sir." Ms. Watson stated, sounding more agreeable to Travers' orders than Price's suggestion.

"Very well then. This meeting is adjourned." Quinton said before looking directly at Price, "Mr. Price would you please remain. I would like to have a few **words** with you concerning your pessimistic appraisal of the Council's power."

Those words produced additional incentive for those that had attended the meeting to leave the room as they had no doubt that their co-worker was about to get a serious dressing down.

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_**Vatican City, Rome, Italy, **_

Headquarters of the Special Section 13 'Iscariot' Organization 

"What news do you have for me, Timothy?" Father Jacob asked as he saw the young priest enter his private chambers.

"I regret to say that the news I bring you does not bode well for the world, Father. I have just received a report from our operative in the Watcher's Council and, if her words are to be believed, then first Lieutenant Rip Van Winkle still exists and is currently in the company of one who could be the No Life Prince Jose spoke of before he died." Timothy replied, visibly troubled by the news he had acquired, "It is believed that they are in Pardubice in the Czech Republic at the moment as several impaled and seriously burned corpses were discovered this morning. The condition the bodies were found in suggests that they were Corvenus breed vampires and the impalement method is consistent with what we know of Nosferatu Alucard."

"Have faith in the Almighty, Timothy. We are his agents here on this world and, no matter the threat, we will prevail because it is His will that we prevail." Jacob stated, lightly reprimanding the young man for his reduced faith in the Lord, "What courses of action have these two groups of heretics decided upon?"

"Both have decided to continue collecting intelligence on the two nosferatu rather than send a force in to deal with them. It would seem that they are concerned that the Corvenus vampires might take offense to their presence and complicate any attempt to either capture or slay the two true nosferatu." Timothy replied with disgust at the perceived cowardice of the organizations.

"I take it you do not approve of their decisions?" Asked Jacob, who desired to hear more of what was on the young priest had to say.

"I doubt those heretics would ever make a decision that I would ever approve of, Father! They both claim to serve the same cause as we do, but they employ monsters to do their work or only put forth a token effort against the evils of this world." Timothy stated with hatred and contempt for both the Watcher's Council and Hellsing Organization, "If they had any true goodness in their hearts, they would not care about **offending** monsters but rather march their forces into the city and not leave until every unholy abomination was destroyed!"

"Perhaps they are concerned that such an aggressive move might risk bringing the existence of these abominations to the attention of the public. After all, Timothy, it would be hard to miss an armed force entering a city in plain view of the public." Father Jacob said, pointing out a problem that kept him from dispatching Iscariot forces to the city.

"Forgive me, I misspoke, I merely meant to say that I believe that the two nosferatu and the Corvenus breed should both be destroyed sooner rather than later." Timothy said, realizing how he had forgotten the fact that their mission must remain hidden from the innocent public, "Long have the Corvenus vampires had a chokehold on that city and the surrounding regions. With the presence of two true nosferatu in the area, the threat to those loyal to the one true faith increases to the point where they may be lost to Hell."

"You propose a more surgical strike should be used in this situation?" Jacob asked in order to prod the young man's train of thought along.

"Maybe. Perhaps a force led by Paladin Anderson, Heinkel and Sister Yumiko with the three of them assigned to terminating the priority targets while the rest keep the cannon fodder at bay. Without their leaders, the lesser vampires should be easy to slaughter." Timothy replied with his confidence rising and falling in time with his thoughts on how to accomplish such a mission, "We might even be able to justify the presence of Iscariot forces by claiming that we are pursuing the perpetrators responsible for the incident at the Corvenus warehouse."

"Indeed. It would be a small thing for our people in Italy's Federal law enforcement agencies to 'discover' a link between a recent arrest and the slaughterhouse discovered in Pardubice." He stated without actually saying where he stood on Timothy's proposal.

"Y-you mean you would approve such a mission, Father?" Timothy asked with both surprise and interest.

"Officially, of course, I cannot condone such blatant trickery and manipulation of the facts due to the lingering 'repercussions' of Maxwell's actions. Our freedom of operation has been greatly reigned in thanks to that fools actions and it is unlikely His Holiness would approve of such a venture." Jacob replied, taking care to choose his words carefully, "Unofficially I agree that the abominations have ruled over those regions of the Czech Republic for far too long and with the potential for an alliance between them and these two nosferatu cannot be ignored. If such forces were to be dispatched they would have to be gathered covertly and no written record of their actions could be made until after their victorious return. Iscariot is at a very perilous point in its journey down the one true path. Do you understand, Timothy?"

It took a moment, but a light of understanding did appear in the boy's eyes as he perceived the hidden meaning in his superior's words.

"If such a mission were undertaken, the one who conceived it should accompany the forces in order to ensure its success." Timothy said both casually and with a tone implying hidden meaning in his words, "However he would have to make sure he could acquire the necessary equipment and manpower without arousing suspicion. How do you suppose such a person could do that?"

"I suppose if the man had in his possession a small token, one known by all to belong to a high ranking Iscariot official, it would cause his orders to be immediately obeyed." He said while taking off his own personal cross from around his neck, "For instance this cross was handcrafted and presented to me by His Holiness himself for many years of faithful service to the Almighty. All who have seen me walking the halls of Iscariot headquarters would recognize it."

With no further words spoken he reached out and placed the cross in Timothy's hands before closing the boy's fingers around it.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, my son, I have much tedious paperwork to attend to and little time before it is due to hand it in." he said before crossing himself, "May the Almighty always watch over you, Timothy."

"And over you, Father Jacob," said Timothy as he crossed himself.

With that the boy walked briskly out of the room with the idea in his head that he had been given covert permission by the head of Iscariot to lead a force to Pardubice to eradicate all unholy abominations in the city. Should the boy return victorious, it would prove to be a great victory for section thirteen and would go a long way towards restoring His Holiness' faith in Iscariot. However, should the boy fail, he could safely use plausible deniability to his advantage and claim he had no idea what the young man had been planning. It would be more convenient for him if there were no survivors of the failure, since it would make concocting a cover story easier, but Paladin Anderson would likely return from such a defeat no matter what. If that happened, he could claim that the boy had stolen his cross from his office while he was elsewhere and launched the mission in a misguided attempt to win his admiration. Iscariot would still take some damage, both from the world and from His Holiness, but it would be minimal without any concrete proof to implicate him.

_I truly regret having to use the boy in such a manner. He was a truly devout servant of the Almighty and executed his duties diligently. _He thought to himself as he returned to his chair behind the desk, _However, we must all make sacrifices in order to carry out His will on Earth._

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Viktor's Mansion, Pardubice, Dusk, The Hallway Approaching Kraven's Office 

_WHY DOES IT ALL HAVE TO GO WRONG __**NOW!?**_Kraven thought to himself as he angrily stalked towards his sanctuary from the problems of stewardship.

He had just spent the last three hours not only dealing with the members of the law enforcement community the Covens had secured the loyalty of attempting to minimize the potential damage caused by the exposing of the den of decadence at one of his secret warehouses. It had been a mess coming up with a convincing story to explain why such repugnant vampires had set up shop at one of his buildings, but he had explained it away as a failed attempt to bring them back into the fold. He had made it sound as though it had been his intention to reform those filthy, sadistic Death Dealers and make them into more respectable members of the Covens. He made sure to include just the right amounts of surprise, anger and dedication to mainstream Coven viewpoints in order to convince them that he had no part in what had been going on in the warehouse. Eventually, though, he had managed to convince them and after some financial incentives all of them had promised to do their best to sweep this problem under the rug by blaming some biker gang or cult known to exist in the Czech Republic. Within a month they promised it would all be forgotten both locally and abroad leaving him with nothing to worry about.

_I'll deal with them later! Right now I have to focus on making my __**arrangement**__ with Lucien and his ilk succeed._ He thought as he turned the doorknob on the door to his office, _Once I become the sole ruler of the Covens, I will have more than enough power to deal with them __**my**__ way!_

However any thoughts of the past, present and future left his mind when he entered his office to find a young man with long black hair dressed in a blood red duster jacket sitting in **his** chair with both feet up on **his** desk. He was about to make his outrage at this known when the boy's head snapped up to reveal glowing blood red eyes and a fanged smile that had just a touch of madness to it.

"Nice office you have here, Kraven! I especially like this chair!" The boy stated in a manner that made it impossible to discern whether or not he was being serious, "Oh, I know it's a bit rude to drop in uninvited, but I did let you know I was coming with that little calling card I left in front of one of your warehouses. Those people were just oh-so helpful with all the little tidbits of information they gave me, but they left one little detail out that I'm curious about. Who is Lucien?"

_The world __**HATES**__ me! That's the only possible explanation for everything getting fucked up all of a sudden!_ He thought to himself as he tried to think of a way to turn the arrival of a True Nosferatu to his advantage.


	5. The Positions of the Cast

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted materials shown herein

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted materials shown herein. They are the property of their creators and associated companies. I am making no money off of this whatsoever. I write only for my own personal enjoyment and the enjoyment of those that like my work.

Note: Yes I know that it has been months if not years since I last posted a chapter for this fanfic. The reasons are two fold:

First) I made the mistake of trying to update all of my fanfics one by one over and over again. If any of you have looked at my section of or then you know I have quite a few in progress fanfics that need updating. Sadly there were so many that updates for each individual one were slow in coming.

Second) I have recently changed my method of updating my works in order to decrease the amount of time between updates. I have divided those works into sets of four and only begin working on another in progress fanfic when a previous one has been completed. Since I have recently finished 'Divergence' I now have the opportunity to resume work on 'The No Life Twin'. That means that instead of the order of updates being A Distant Relation, Black Wing, A World of Difference and Divergence my Hellsing/BtVS crossover will take Divergences place.

I know that this will not make up for leaving you who loved this fanfic without your fix for so long but take some comfort in the fact that now that I've started working on it again I won't be stopping until it's completed.

Now on with the show…

&

_**A Run Down Hotel in the City, One Hour Later, Xander's P.O.V**_

"Heheheheheheh!" He laughed as he walked out of the shadows of the room that he, Lillith and Sorina had rented for their stay in the city.

It was true that he and Lilith had been staying in a rundown building prior to the events in the warehouse but that was hardly a suitable place for a young girl like Sorina, so they'd used some of the funds 'liberated' from the warehouse to rent a room for a couple of nights. They paid for the week but had plenty left over in case they had to stay longer and that was a distinct possibility given what he'd learned from Kraven. The little politician had himself quite a game going on with the lycan ruler Lucien and had managed to keep it a secret for many a year. Neither Viktor nor any of the others who ranked over the fop seemed to know anything about the aristocrat's plan, making them all the more foolish in his eyes. The Corvinus vampire elders had become complacent since the last day he could recall of Alucard's life before his capture by the Hellsing family. In all their long years of trying to put down the rebellion of their former lycan watchdogs, they never once forgot what they were or how they should act. Now, though, they were so assured of their victory over their lycans that the discipline was degrading and what power they possessed were making them arrogant.

How else could one explain it all?

"Something amuse you, Alexander?" Lilith asked from her place by the window where she watched those not of her kind mill about on the streets.

"You could say that, dear Lilith." He replied as he took in Sorina asleep in the bed, "It would appear that Kraven has been pulling the wool over the eyes of the coven elders for around six hundred eyes. The leader of the lycans that he claimed to have killed in fourteen-oh-nine is very much alive and is building his army back up in secret."

"Fools! They've let their place of superiority over the demonic breed of vampire make them weak." Lilith said with clear contempt for the breed of vampire that existed beneath True Nosfuratu, "They have taken Tata's captivity and let themselves believe that they were now the most superior breed of vampire. They should be taught their place!"

"Perhaps." He said with a smile as he opened the paper bag that held the animal blood from the local butcher, "For now I think it would be amusing to let matters play out a little bit more. It might be interesting to see if Kraven can actually pull off his little scheme."

Taking a sip of the blood, he was ready for the disgust and revulsion from his Alucard half that hated the idea of dining on anything other than human blood. However he hadn't trusted the blood that had been stored at the warehouse and he didn't want to do anything that would give Kraven an idea of where he and his traveling companions were staying. The fool had already tried to bribe him into becoming a part of his little conspiracy but he'd turned the offer down and instead promised that he wouldn't interfere with the plan until it was completely useless. Still, if he wanted to be honest with himself, it was the fact that the part of him that was still Xander Harris was sickened by the thought of drinking blood **period** that he'd resorted to animal blood. It was getting to be an odd amalgam of traits inside his undead had but for the time being it appeared that his human half was the more dominant of the two. Whether that was because of the sheer stubbornness of the human half or simply the fact that the No Life King part was artificial, he didn't know. His bouts of disorientation, times when his two halves were no longer allied under a single objective, were happening less frequently and he hoped that meant that his mind was adjusting to the extra content. He didn't want to think about the other reasons why his episodes were happening less often, like perhaps he was starting to go insane for real and this madness was preventing him from perceiving his mind breaking.

_Personally I am going to go with the stance: if you're worried about going insane then you're still sane._ He thought finishing off the cup of animal blood, _Not the most scientific reasoning but it works for me._

"So we watch and see this little drama play out. What if it gets too boring?" Lilith asked, finally turning away from the window to look directly at him.

"Well then we spice it up, of course!" He replied feeling a slightly unhinged smile bloom on his face.

While he could safely say he wasn't quite the glutton for violence and mayhem as the real Alucard was, he could see the appeal of being in the middle of it all. Plus he personally didn't like the idea of Kraven becoming the ruler of the Corvinus breed of vampire. The man was a politician and a schemer of the highest order who didn't know the first thing about running an empire. Oh, the fool might have thought that it was no different than running Viktor's affairs for a century or two but Alucard… Dracula's memories told him differently. Knowing how to administrate a vast empire and keeping that empire under your control were two very different things. The first was simple pencil pushing, making sure that all the details were worked out satisfactorily, and the occasional bit of personnel management. The latter, on the other hand, was dealing with those beneath you trying to steal your throne, your power, along with those from outside your territory. Kraven might have some skill in the former but in the latter he was a complete amateur who would lead his kind to ruin if he was permitted to. Considering the trouble the moron would cause if allowed to lead, it was in everyone's best interests if his plan were to suffer an 'accident' or two at a critical juncture. How obvious the accident was going to be… well, he wasn't sure. He wasn't much of a planner but rather someone who did his best work on the spur of the moment.

_Still, it should be interesting one way or another._ He thought as he lay down on the second bed of the room and decided to catch what little sleep he did need.

&

_**2:00a.m, An Airstrip Outside of Pardubice, Paladin Alexander Anderson's P.O.V**_

_So the once mighty Iscariot has fallen to this._ Paladin Anderson thought as he walked down the rear ramp of the plane that had carried them to this godforsaken region, _Two divisions, over fifty warriors loyal to the Lord, placed under the command of a child._

Looking at the boy, Timothy, as the young man barked orders to those that had been placed under his command by a high ranking member of Section 13. He'd inquired as to who precisely had been so… optimistic so as to assign such a mission to one who had never seen battle up close. He'd heard the boy lay out the plan for this mission before they left Vatican City and, while the theory was sound, it was also obvious that all the young man knew came from reading about battles rather than living them. His only comfort was the fact that Sister Yumiko and Heinkel Wolfe were here as well. The divine sword wielder and the gifted sharpshooter were worthy allies and he trusted them with his life. With them by his side and the Lord watching over him, he was confident that no matter how poorly Timothy led them, he would still be able to achieve the mission's objective.

It was nothing less than the destruction of the Corvinus breed of vampire scum and the eternal death of the one referred by their holy Seers as the No Life Prince.

There was no mistaking the similarity between that title and the one claimed by the abomination in the service of that Protestant cow Sir Integra Fairbrook Windgates Hellsing. While it was possible that the threat in question was not a vampire but merely some other breed of monster, it didn't change how matters would end. All unnatural creatures that they encountered in this cesspool would be slain and torn asunder, leaving only the innocent behind them to restore what had been wrongfully taken from them. He could practically smell the filthy monsters from here and they were half an hour from the city limits. He breathed in deeply through his nose and attempted to see if he could smell the foul being who proclaimed himself the No Life Prince. However, all that his nose could detect were smells one would commonly find in an out of the way airstrip in the middle of nowhere. He supposed that unlike the legends of old, where a member of Iscariot could track their prey by smell alone, were just that and nothing more. It didn't matter though, since he would find the monsters anyway. All it meant was that he'd have to do it the old fashioned way: by looking for signs of their filthy habits and for structures that suited their tastes when it came to looking for a place to rest.

_They won't escape me! Those abominations cannot resist giving into their foul impulses!_ He thought as he steeled himself for the hunt to come, _Sooner or later they will grow careless and, when they do, I will be there to make sure that it is their last mistake._

"Everyone! Listen! We will begin with simple recon." Timothy said raising his voice so that all close by could hear him, "Six men in teams of two will enter the city and ascertain precisely where the vermin are hiding. Two will go to the warehouse where the televised event took place to search it for evidence that could prove useful. Two will visit the police precinct that is handling the case and dispose of any evidence that expose the existence of the supernatural and demonic to the innocent public. The last two will examine buildings and structures where they may be spending their daylight hours. Once we have gathered all the information necessary, we can begin to plan the assault. Any questions?"

There were a few moments in which the warriors of Iscariot looked back and forth to one another, measuring how much dissent existed in another's eyes, but it ended soon enough.

"Good. Then good hunting and may the Almighty be with you all." Timothy declared before walking to and entering the command tent that had been erected.

He couldn't help but growl at these latest orders because he knew that he would not be among the six sent first into the city. Timothy had spoken with him privately before the plane had taken off and said that until the time for battle had come, he was to remain in the encampment. When asked for the reason for this order, the young man had claimed that he, Sister Yumiko and Heinkel were too well known to the Hellsing Organization. If there was indeed a connection between Alucard and this new threat, then it was possible that England's abomination had also passed memories to this newcomer. If that was the case, then it would be all too easy for the vampire to identify them and raise the alarm alerting his foul kind to the presence of Iscariot in the city. Timothy was determined that this be a stealth mission where attacks would be conducted with surgical precision. That meant not allowing the enemy to know they were close by until it was far too late for the creatures to do anything but die by their holy hands. While he might not much care for the orders they were reasonable enough and logical enough that he would obey them for the time being.

How long he would be able to restrain his desire to go into the corrupt city and deal out the divine punishment of heaven to the monsters and what human allies they might have was not known even to him.

Walking over to a small cross that had been erected as part of a barrier to keep unholy creatures from entering their camp, he went down on bended knee and began to pray to God for the success of this mission. He prayed that it would be he and he alone that struck the final blow against this No Life Prince as well as the most dangerous of the Corvinus vampires. Most of all, though, he prayed that this would mark the beginning of Section Thirteen's return to its former glory as they climbed out of the pit of shame that Enrico Maxwell had cast them into with his power mad actions.

"Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…" he prayed quietly with eyes shut and head bowed in reverence to the one true God of this world.

&

_**The Following Night, The Streets of Pardubice, Selene's P.O.V**_

_To think this could be one of the few nights I have left as a Death Dealer._ Selene thought as the rain poured down soaking her to the bone.

It was a truth she occasionally tried to convince herself wasn't true but the evidence was mounting with every year that passed. Lycan sightings were becoming fewer in number and, while most years she killed fifteen, this past one her total amount of kills numbered less than ten. It had been over a hundred years since the Death Dealers had faced even a small pack of the beasts, much less one with a respectable leader. Without a leader they were little more than stray dogs and were dispatched just as easily when found. Logically she knew that even if there was only one lycan out there the numbers could swell if that sole beast spread his taint amongst the human population. It was the nature of their two races. All it took was a bite from either vampire or lycan to turn a normal human into another of their breed. Most didn't survive, though, and died horribly as a result of the vampire or lycan strain attempting to change what was into what could be. Those few that did survive the process were given **some** regard given their rarity, but those that thought that they could abuse this benevolence were quickly taught otherwise. In any case, while the successful turning of a human was no doubt as rare for the lycans as it was for the vampires, it meant that it would be virtually impossible to terminate them as a species.

_Not that that means that the politicians and fops won't stop trying to funnel resources away from us._ She thought bitterly as she recalled the last meeting of division heads that took place at Viktor's mansion.

It had been a sad fact that with the gradual decline of lycan sightings and terminations, there had been a movement among the politicians of the Covens that the Death Dealers did not need such a large budget anymore. It was the position of the more progressive among the Coven that with the lycans all but extinct that resources should be funneled towards more important ventures, such as a means to allow them to walk in daylight. While she could not lie and say that she didn't desire to once again walk in the sunlight, she knew that they were years away from finding a way to protect themselves from its harmful rays. Even with their ability to plan long term, the level of technology they had was not much more advanced than what the human race already had. Developing a cream or a treatment that would allow them to walk out in the open during the day was, for the moment, a pipe dream and thus she didn't allow herself to dwell on it. However, those that had never seen battle, never known the life of a Death Dealer, were only focused on increasing the level of luxury they could enjoy, regardless of the cost. They'd piss away all the money, gold and precious jewels the Coven possessed if they got sold on an idea. It was for this reason that she'd argued long and hard during the meeting against reducing the funds and, when that appeared to fail, she managed to force Kraven to at least cutting the planned budget cuts in half. It wasn't a victory in her mind but at least it hadn't been a total loss.

Looking down, she studied the part of the city where their sources had informed him they would encounter five or so lycans. Five separate lycans had been spotted walking down this same stretch of street for the past three weeks without fail. The information had been deemed credible enough that she, Rigel and Nathanial were ordered to locate these five and kill them. From her perch on the balcony of the church, she looked down to the target area and sought those supposed lycans, using the descriptions as a guide. She had been waiting with Rigel for the past hour for their prey to show and, unless her enhanced eyesight was very much deceiving her, the mongrel beasts had finally arrived. There were two people, two men dressed in dirty clothes, walking down the street side by side that matched two of the descriptions they'd been provided with. Looking to Rigel, she indicated that she wanted him to use the digital camera they'd brought for the mission to confirm the targets with photographs. This would be a means of positive identification that was far more accurate than drawn pictures or the words of witnesses. Not that she intended to let either of those animals leave the area alive but she had been taught well and knew the value of following procedure.

With a look he told her that the pictures were taken and, with a nod from her, the objective changed from confirmation to one of termination. Stepping off the balconies they had been kneeling on, they dropped to the streets below, allowing their superior forms to land without any difficulty whatsoever. They already knew from their informants the route the lycans would take and so they moved to the interception point they'd decided upon in the subway station. Proceeding quickly but not so fast that she stood out from the crowd of humans around her, she made her way to the subway and, once inside, placed herself behind one of the support pillars. Rigel, on the other hand, would take the lead in shadowing the targets with her taking up the rear position at a safe distance. While she would slay these two if necessary, it was important to make certain that they were not a part of a larger pack. Five in total didn't make a pack and, if they struck too soon, they would drive the survivors underground and it would take weeks to reacquire them.

Weeks in which they could replenish their numbers by kidnapping some and promising the others power in exchange for servitude.

That was unacceptable to her.

Two minutes passed before the targets descended the stairs into the subway station and, like clockwork, Rigel detached himself from the shadows in which he hid to follow the African American lycan. She would wait until they were at least two blocks away before pursuing them herself since any closer might make her seem suspicious. Step by step she watched them, counting the meters between her position and their positions, but all of a sudden something happened. The lycan that Rigel had chosen to follow stopped walking and was looking around as though it sensed that something was not quite right. While unexpected, it was not uncommon for Death Dealers to be detected by their prey like this but she could not think of a single thing that might have made their presence known. In any case, she was confident that at least they would have some time before they'd be required to fight the two lycans. Like her kind the beasts did not desire for the humans of the world to know of their existence and so did whatever they could to maintain a low profile. It benefited neither species if the humans were made aware of them and so the lycans would do their best to find an isolated area to do battle in.

"BLOODS!" The large man yelled as he spotted Rigel and began opening fire with automatic weaponry.

_Fools! _She thought angrily as she took out her twin modified automatic handguns.

The crowd scattering around them both she and Rigel took cover from one of the lycans by using the support pillars of the station as cover. She could hear all too clearly the sounds of bullets impacting on the stone and, to a degree, could feel it as well but, fortunately, whatever ammunition they were using didn't have the ability to fully penetrate concrete. As she prepared to engage the lycans, she turned to Rigel and indicated that he should take the lead and that she would be right behind him. However it was as they were both about to confront the large African lycan that the other that they'd lost track of appeared. She was able to get clear of the fire but Rigel wasn't so lucky. She didn't actually see him get hit but she did see him fall to the ground with bullet holes in his jacket. She was not too worried since it would take quite a few bullets to kill a vampire and the damage to her fellow Death Dealer did not appear to be too extensive. However her estimation of the situation took a turn for the worse when an unfamiliar blue light began to appear in the wounds and this light spread along with smoke throughout his body. His skin began to shrivel up as the smoke rising from his body increased in quantity and at that moment she knew what had to be happening. There were few things that could cause such a reaction in a vampire and the most likely one was sunlight or, more precisely, ultra-violet light commonly found mixed in the rays of the sun.

Somehow the lycans had found a way to turn sunlight into a weapon!

With the seriousness of the situation now obvious, she knew there was no longer any time to play things safe. She had to end this conflict now before the two beasts cornered her with their deadly new bullets. With a modified automatic handgun in each hand, she began to lay down fire on the lycan that had killed Rigel, never giving it a moment to recover, always seeking his death. She had him on the run until the sounds of automatic fire to her right let her know that the larger lycan had acquired her as a target. Despite returning fire, she was gradually forced back behind a pillar since there was no other reasonable course of action when outnumbered two to one. Fortunately the third member of their team that had been waiting at the top of the stairs in case the lycans had gotten past Rigel and herself chose that moment to join the fight. Within moments the larger lycan had been given more pressing things to focus his attention on than her and she was free to focus her attention on the beast that killed Rigel.

Turning around the pillar, she saw her prey trying to drag a male human off with him, probably to sate its barbarous hunger for bloody flesh, but that only made it easier for her to hit him. Once the first shot knocked him off his feet and removed his hands from the human, she began to increase her rate of fire to kill him quickly. Not out of any form of compassion or mercy but rather because that is how she was trained to deal with them. Other Death Dealers had made the mistake of playing with their prey and often paid the price of their arrogance with their lives. She was not going to let overconfidence deny her vengeance for the death of her comrade. She continued to lay down fire but it would seem that the Fates had a soft spot for mangy animals and so the creature was able to escape into the subway tunnels. Grabbing Rigel's camera as she ran after her target, she sought him out diligently, never being more than a few minutes behind him at any one time.

She knew that she had hit him at least once and, with the silver bullet in him, his movements would become increasingly more difficult with every minute that passed. Little by little bits of silver would fall off the bullet, entering his bloodstream and weaken him until eventually it would kill him. Not as swift as the effect would be on a mortal shot in the chest but, due to the highly allergic reaction lycans had towards the metal, it was sufficient. Keeping to the shadows, she proceeded as quickly as she could down the tunnel, using her heightened sense of smell to track the blood coming from the animal's wound. Until the fool found a way to stem the flow of blood, she would be able to follow him easily and, while its death was her priority, if it wound up leading her to more of its kind then so much the better.

It was four minutes later though that she came to an opening on the right side of the tunnel where the smell of blood was particularly potent. Stopping to take it the corridor, she soon found specks of blood on the ground as well as the bullet the lycan had obviously pried out of its body with its fingers. It was as she picked it up that she heard a howl that all Death Dealers knew and it raised her alertness to a higher level since the tunnels made it difficult to determine where the howl was coming from. However, while she looked about for the source of the howl, she spotted a bloody smear on the wall that could easily be a bloody handprint. Moving forward in the direction, she deduced the lycan had gone and, while it appeared to be a dead end, she saw a grate in the floor that was just big enough for a human to fit through. With two swift moves she opened the grill up and leapt down, entering a damp, rarely used set of tunnels but it was just the sort of place that the mongrel breed preferred. Listening carefully for signs of her prey, she was not disappointed when she heard the sound of pressure being put on the trigger of a gun.

_There!_ She thought as she crouched and spun towards the sound.

It was fortunate that she'd heard the noise in time because, if she had not, she'd be as dead as Rigel based on the rate of fire coming from the lycan. Sadly the beast didn't fair nearly as well, taking three of her silver bullets in the chest and being knocked off his feet once more thanks to the momentum from the rounds. Watching him writhe on the floor, she ejected the spent magazines from her guns and put fresh ones in as she approached the expression of pain. A human would no doubt feel pity for the creature, feel the desire to put it out of its misery, but she could only feel the coldness of rage in her soul. It was mongrel beasts like this that killed her family oh so long ago, that caused her father to cry out in pain as he was torn apart, and as they killed without remorse so would she. Planting one foot firmly on the writhing monster's chest, she opened fire on it at point blank range until the clips in both guns were empty. Looking down at the still form bleeding all over the stone cold floor, one might think she would be able to feel some measure of satisfaction over avenging the death of Rigel. Alas this was not to be so because there would forever be the memory of those she had failed to save, those most important to her, in the past haunting her.

Looking down at the gun the lycan had been using, she picked it up, interested in seeing its previously unseen ammunition for herself, and when she ejected the clip she saw a sight that troubled her. Eight bullet-shaped projectiles with transparent casings that contained a glowing blue liquid that she bet was tied to sunlight. She had to get this back to Khan, the weapons maker of the Death Dealers, to see if he could confirm her findings so she could bring them before the others. With the threat of this sort of ammunition, not even Kraven could ignore the threat the lycans now posed to their kind. Where before the beasts relied on close quarters combat that was partially effective and firearms that were little more than an annoyance to vampires, now there were bullets that could kill with a single shot. Now it was possible for a relative handful of lycans to kill dozens of vampires in seconds!

A feral noise broke her from the thoughts of the meeting to come and brought her back to the here and now just in time to hear a heavy form drop through the grate she had come through minutes earlier. Reaching into her coat, she withdrew four metal disks and, with great precision, threw them towards the oncoming transformed lycan, watching them sprout blades at their edges. With the beast howling in pain she fled the area, quashing the desire to add another kill to her impressive record, not willing to risk that this important bit of evidence might fail to reach the others. Choosing her turns at random, she hoped that this would increase the difficulty of pursuit and allow her the time she needed to lose the beast behind her entirely.

Finally, when she thought she'd been running enough, she ducked around a corner and pressed herself to the wall before focusing on her sense of hearing. She would wait for five minutes for any sign of pursuit and, if nothing happened, then she would consider herself safe. If, however, she picked up so much as an out of place footstep, she would resume her escape and evasion maneuvers until she did feel safe. However it was when her attention became sufficiently focused on her sense of hearing that a more curious sound reached her ears. There was much echoing but she could distinctly hear the growls of lycans mixed in with the sound of cheering humans coming from a pipe sticking of the ceiling close to her. It sounded like there were far more than just the five they had been told were in the area, perhaps even as many as fifty, and it was never a good sign when that many were grouped together. First the creatures instigated a fight in full view of the human public, then they use ammunition that was quite effective in killing Rigel and now there are signs of a large pack beneath the city.

It didn't take a vampire elder to figure out that something was seriously wrong with this picture.

Sadly she was not given time to ponder these things further as the sound clawed feet approaching her position reached her ears. With the likelihood of being found increasing she once again began sprinting down the corridors in order to lose pursuit so she could safely make it back to Viktor's mansion with her vital intelligence.

Her flight from this place would only be temporary though.

She would return and with greater numbers at her back.

And she would kill every lycan found here.

All of them.

&

_**A Nearby Wall, Same Time**_

_Well, well!_ Xander thought as he watched the lycan run by in pursuit of its vampire prey, _At least there are some among the Corvinus breeds that remember how to behave._

He'd been out for a peaceful stroll in order to both take in the sights as well as get a line on the whereabouts of the lycans in the city. While the mutts of Corvinus didn't like their 'cousins' the vampires all that much, they knew to respect the True Nosfuratu breed of vampire. After all, when one red eyed vampire managed to kick the asses of over a hundred lycans and not have so much as a paper cut to show for it afterwards, they'd be dumb mutts not to show some respect. What he found, though, was that signs of change were beginning to show themselves making him wonder if his luck really had taken a turn for the better.

Since the first moment he'd hidden in the walls of the subway to observe the two lycans he'd happened upon while walking in the rain, he'd watched the confrontation. It had been most entertaining as well as informative since it gave him a sneak preview of what he could expect in the coming days. While he'd been a bit disappointed in the performance of the male Death Dealers, the woman had impressed him greatly with her skill. She had completely outclassed the lycan agents, had pursued them relentlessly and slain them without a shred of mercy or remorse.

It had been enough to almost to make him leave his hiding spot and speak with her directly.

Unfortunately, thanks to that large lycan, Raze, if he recalled correctly, there was never an opportune moment to show himself. He decided then that he would personally teach the old dog a new trick but he wasn't sure whether it should be play dead or sit up and beg. Eh, he'd decide when he saw the brutish man next. Either that or he'd forget and the fool would luck his way out of the ass kicking he deserved.

Despite what the girls back in Sunnyhell would think, he was not impressed with her just because she was **HOT** and clad in PVC from head to toe.

…Though that did give him some interesting imagery to work with anytime he got bored.

He wondered if she'd look as good out of her outfit as in it?

_XANDER!!_ Came the voice of Lilith in his head, letting him know that not only had she established a telepathic connection with him but had heard **everything**.

_Now, now Lilith! There's no harm in admiring beauty._ He thought back to her in his most persuasive tone, _Besides I think I saw a spark or two between her and that human the lycans were after. Maybe I should see about nudging the two together. Do a little matchmaking. What do you think?_

His response came in the form of three monkeys.

One covering its eyes.

One covering its mouth.

The last one had covered its ears.

_Pessimist! I'll show you!_ He thought back at her with annoyance before he left the underground tunnel network where he could **smell** Lucian's lycan army living.

An enhanced sense of smell definitely made wet dog more unbearable.

&

_**Viktor's Mansion, The Hallways, Twenty-Three Hours Later, Kraven's P.O.V**_

_THAT WOMAN WISHES TO DRIVE ME INSANE!!_ Kraven roared mentally as he was forced to settle for Erika at his side rather than the vampires he truly wanted.

It had been hours since the woman had defied his decision that Soren would investigate the 'lycan pack' situation she'd reported and once again rejected his command to be by his side to welcome the envoy from the second Coven. It was times like these that he wondered why he didn't just cut all ties to that infuriating Death Dealer and seek a more compliant bedmate. Like before, though, the answer came quickly enough that he wasn't given time to consider the alternatives. The reason he pursued her with such a passion was **because** she was so difficult to handle. A hunt was meaningless if the prey was brought to ground so easily. He knew that if he could succeeded in winning Selene, the taste of his victory would be sweeter than the blood from a virgin girl. The fact that she was known by all in the Coven as Viktor's 'daughter' didn't hurt either since it would help solidify his position as the **new** elder of the two great Covens. After all, no one would gainsay the one who had been right hand man of the strongest of the three vampire elders **and** currently was the husband of the best female Death Dealer in the world. He would have the power, the girl and if necessary an enforcer of his will that few if any would be capable of defeating.

It was a wonderful future he saw for himself!

It was such a pity that he might have to revise it a little.

Selene believed she was onto something, that she'd discovered something important, and if the past was any guide to the future, she would not leave it be until all her leads had run bone dry. In times past when someone began to perceive the edges of his pact with Lucien he simply had them killed or persuaded the lycan elder to move his people further underground. Now though, neither of those moves were possible since the first would deprive him of his prize and the latter would conflict with his mission to eliminate the current vampire elders. As dangerous as it could be, he would have to either hope that his plans reached fruition before the daughter of Viktor could learn the truth or find some reason to imprison her. Both had some drawbacks that could hurt him if things went too far but he hadn't orchestrated the biggest coup de tat in history just to lose it all now.

It was as he was idly listening to some story the lead envoy was telling him that he noticed one of his followers lean over to whisper something to Erika. The man seemed quite agitated and this was quickly passed on to the ambitious blonde who after mumbling something back turned to him with concern in her eyes. Being mindful that her actions had caught the attention of a few others she leaned in close to him, perhaps closer than necessary, to whisper something to him.

"Selene has returned and she's brought a human man with her." Erika whispered to him with some wariness, "They're in her office on the second floor."

This news was not welcome at all.

It took everything he had not to stand up and march to where his obsession was causing him problems so that he could set her straight once and for all. To do so would be a political faux pas towards Amelia's envoy and would cause him problems when he would bring them under his rule later. So, with a whisper to Erika to go and try to find out more about the situation, he politely asked for the envoys forgiveness for the interruption and insisted he continue with his boring tale. As the story that threatened him with sleepiness continued, his mind worked on ways that he could safely remove himself from this official gathering so he could find out what Erika had learned. Simply leaving with the transparent excuse that Coven business required his attention wouldn't be enough and coming up with some sort of convoluted story could trip him up later. No it would be best to give things enough time so that he could use the 'I wonder what is taking the lovely Erika so long. I think I will go look for her' excuse. It would allow him to leave without too much trouble and if he didn't return until much later then he could simply say something came up that required his specific attention. It was both plausible and hardly something that the envoy could find fault with later since it would be a political faux pas on his part if he pursued such an innocent matter too far.

Fifteen minutes passed before he judged that it was safe to take his leave of the envoy and some very **sophisticated** phrases he left the main hall. As soon as he was out of the sight of anyone important, he released the anger that had been boiling inside of him up until then and strode with a purpose to where he would find Selene, Erika and that **human** his obsession had brought into **his** home. He had just reached the far end of the second floor when he encountered Erika and braced himself since he knew that she would be ever so overzealous in reporting to him. While he admired the ambition the woman had for improving her position in the Coven but aside from her beauty there was very little else she had going for her.

"What have you learned?" He asked while looking at her in a way that made it clear that omitting details would not be smiled upon.

"She did not return in the same vehicle she left in but one whose license plates indicate it came from one of our businesses downtown." Erika replied promptly and efficiently, "Michelle in law enforcement relations told me that the original car was pulled out of the water only a few moments ago with quite a few unnatural holes in it. Selene is currently tending to the human she brought back with her."

Considering how few people could threaten a Death Dealer, he could only presume that the daughter of Viktor had run into more lycans. This would only increase the woman's desire to seek the truth behind this rise in the local vermin population and the threat to his plans would increase even further. He needed to put a stop to this right now before she actually managed to uncover something that could damage his plans.

"Go to her. Tell her I wish to see her in my office **immediately**." He ordered with the utmost authority in his voice, "Make it clear to her that any…defiance would not be treated as lightly as before."

Unlike what one might have thought, it didn't take the woman long to figure out that any delay in carrying out this order would have negative repercussions for her personally. With a quick nod of her head, she walked away to seek out Selene so that the message could be passed along. As for him, he went directly to his office to formulate the proper way in which he could convey his anger and his warning to the **infuriating** woman who never did as she was told. Simply discrediting her so-called evidence had proven inadequate and that meant he had to make it clear that any further unnecessary investigations would not be tolerated **at ALL**. He was the regent of the Coven, Viktor's second in command, and administrator of all that that entailed. She would not defy him on this if he made it an official order rather than simply a personal request because while she was many things Selene was not someone who would voluntarily defy the Coven as a whole. She would not defy the Coven because she believed that it was Viktor's Coven and she held that old man in such high regard that the thought of disrespecting anything of his repulsed her. Once she was under control once more, he would have nothing to be concerned about except seeing his plans through to completion.

Turning as the doors opened he watched as his obsession and his greatest frustration entered the room not looking the least bit respectful towards him.

That would change **NOW**!

&

_**A Rainy Side Street, Two Hours Later, Lucien's P.O.V**_

_Time to soothe the pompous twit._ Lucien thought with much annoyance as he watched Kraven's car pull up in front of his own.

It had been a little under an hour since he'd received word from his co-conspirator through their network of relays that the vampire wanted to meet with him. This was both odd as well as dangerous but he'd expected it after Raze's confrontation with the Death Dealers in the subway tunnel. The methods for tailing the potential human descendants of Alexander Corvinus had been made by him so as to minimize the chances of being detected by Death Dealers not under Kraven's influence. Two man teams always, never travel the same route more than two times a week and only break that pattern if you are about to acquire the latest subject. It had worked for centuries as he sought out the means by which to do away with the vampire elders by creating a force stronger than them. Now, though, it seemed that his growing impatience might have caused his hand to be tipped sooner than was safe. Still, he now had the subject he wanted, Michael Corvin, and with victory in sight he would do whatever he could to keep that fop of a vampire from mucking things up.

Watching as the pampered fool got into the back seat of the car with him he waited for the predictable ranting to begin.

"Engaging Death Dealers in public and she learns you're after some human was not what I had in mind!" Kraven growled with water dripping from his well maintained hair, "You were told, you **were TOLD** to set up shop and lay low. You--!"

That was quite enough ranting!

Grabbing the fool by the throat, squeezing ever so 'gently', he made sure that the spoiled aristocrat would cease speaking before making his own thoughts known.

"Calm yourself, Kraven!!" He growled, allowing a bit of his inner animal out to play if only in voice, "The human doesn't concern you. Besides which, I have laid low for quite long enough."

With that he released his grip from the vampire's throat and laid back more comfortably in his seat. After all, while he didn't like the fool, it would be unwise to overly antagonize Kraven when his hidden agenda was so quickly reaching completion. Best to do what little he could to keep the partnership intact and relatively amicable.

"Just keep your men at bay, Lucien." Kraven said as though he was giving orders to a subordinate rather than an equal partner, "At least for the time being. Don't force me to regret out arrangement."

"You just concentrate on your part." He said trying to reassure the vampire that he would hold up his side of the bargain, "Remember, I've bled for you once already. Without me you'd have nothing. You'd **be** nothing."

With those words he made it clear by looking away that the meeting was over and that it was time for the vampire to return to his posh mansion. It was a dangerous little dance he and Kraven did, each one trying to achieve dominance over the other, but it left both of them with the impression that they needed one another. This need would keep the regent of the local clan pacified until the last possible moment because when the time came he had no doubt that the vampire would betray him. From the moment they are turned vampires are taught of their superiority of their kind in comparison to the lycans. He knew this because he too made sure that his kind knew that they had to be at their best to defeat the vampires who at the moment had an advantage over them. However that advantage would soon be nullified once Michael Corvin received the other half of the Corvinus legacy. When that happened a merger of the strains would occur and a new breed would emerge with the lycan side being the more dominant of the two. Add to that the genetic memories his bite would have bestowed on the human and it would all too easy to convince the young man to join the struggle against the merciless vampires. That is not to say that there won't be some things he would need to keep under wraps, like the questionable appetites of **some** lycans, but he could handle it.

_There is one thing, though, that troubles me._ He thought as Raze got into the driver's seat of the vehicle to take them back to their den, _The attack on one of the vampires' warehouses and the ones impaled before put on display for both the sun as well as the public._

While he had been cautious in gathering information, he had been able to learn that the vampires killed had belonged to one of the more vulgar groups within the local Coven. They were brutes and mentally unstable whose only use was the psychological effect they had on their enemies when they were unleashed. Oh, they dressed like the rest of their kind and occasionally acted like any other Corvinus vampire, but all it took was one encounter to see that they were not playing with a full deck. He had been pursued by their kind on one previous occasion and had been disturbed greatly by how they behaved and what truly existed in their minds. With no other force in the city capable of massacring an entire warehouse of those sort of vampires, that would imply that it was not a force but something else entirely. He'd even heard rumors from his own that a new player had entered town and had been seen buying blood from the local butchers. He'd pressed each of his subordinates for more information but they were unable to provide anything solid. He didn't like the fact that he didn't have a name or a species to go with this new player but he couldn't risk a more aggressive investigation at present. While Kraven might have influence over a great many members of the local Coven, he did not control them all. Such was the reason for such secrecy for the two of them because if the rest of the Corvinus vampires were to learn the truth Kraven's days would be ended and perhaps his own as well.

_Whoever this new player is I hope that he or she has the decency to mind their own business for the next week or so._

&


	6. The Lit Fuse

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material contained herein. They are the rightful property of their creators and associated companies. I make no money off of this. I write only for my own personal enjoyment and what enjoyment the readers can obtain from reading my works.

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_**The Hotel Room of Xander, Lilith and Sorina**_

_**One Day Later, 8:30p.m, Lilith's P.O.V**_

"Things just became more interesting, Alexander." Lilith stated as she finished entering the room from the few shadows that existed therein, "Iscariot is in town and I think they're looking to cause a bit of a commotion among the locals."

"That **IS** interesting, Lilith." Alexander stated from where he and Sorina were lounging on the bed watching TV, "Seems like we have quite the party in the works. Do you think any of the other guests know about the Italian party crashers?"

"Unlikely. From what I can recall from Das Millennium intelligence files, the Iscariot have not set foot in this region for some time. One hundred and sixty-five years to be precise, not since the last clash between Vatican Section Thirteen and the Corvenus Covens, when they were repelled by the slimmest of margins." She replied slowly as she tried to sift through her chaotic memories of the time before the scientists used technology to restore her sanity, "Given so much time, it is likely that Viktor and Amelia have dismissed the notion of Iscariot launching another assault for at least another century."

"Their mistake, then," was all Alexander said as he threw his legs over the side of the bed and looked out the window into the city outside.

The young True Nosfuratu was such a mystery to her even after all this time but she supposed that was part of the reason why she chose to stay with him. Her own powers were not yet strong enough to pierce his mind and allow her to view his thoughts directly, so she was left trying to ascertain his motives like an ordinary human would. It was refreshing in a way but also oddly scary, considering how closely he reminded her of Tata in some ways but strayed into unthinkable directions in other areas. From her point of view, it was an oddly apt description of his mind to say that the part of him that was Alexander LaVelle Harris was in a delicate balancing act with the copy of Tata's mind that existed on the other side of the mental scales. What occupied her mind the majority of the time was whether or not a new composite entity was being formed from the two halves or if a new equilibrium was being established between the two. For the time being she didn't know which she preferred but, whichever one it was, she hoped that it would allow him to live out his unlife in a way other than as a babbling lump of flesh. While she could feel herself getting more and more used to living with a mind no longer fragmented by years of insanity, it would be many centuries still before she could feel safe on her own. Her sanity, after all, was the result of technological implants and, like most machines, there was a distinct possibility that it might break down or start to malfunction. If such a thing happened, she could find herself back in that black sea of chaos where thoughts were only loosely defined and could change as easily the winds themselves. In all truth, she considered it a long streak of luck that she had been able to fulfill her duties as a soldier of Das Millennium at all given the state her mind had been in at the time. She didn't want to return to that sort of existence if at all possible.

_Don't worry, dear Lilith._ Came Alexander's thoughts telepathically sent to her mind, _While those Nazi fools were many things, a lack of competence was not something they tolerated there. I think you have quite some time indeed before we have to worry about those implants blowing a fuse or something. If worse comes to worse, we can always go and hunt down their remaining bases for an egghead smart enough to repair it. Everything will be fine. I promise._

His words warmed her heart (metaphorically speaking, of course) and she agreed that the leaders of Das Millennium would not have acquired fools incapable of completing their assigned tasks. They sought out only the best for their ambitions regardless of whether or not the person could be brought around to the organization's way of thinking. Pushing such concerns from her mind, she was about to begin briefing Alexander about the Iscariot group located outside of the city when she sensed… something or someone… awakening. She tried to match this sensation to something she recognized but, as had been the case lately, her memories of the past were muddled and it was difficult to distinguish what was reality and what was another fanciful bout of insanity. The chuckling the came from Alexander, though, the chuckling that grew to laughter, told her that he had no such trouble matching the sensation her True Nosfuratu senses were giving her at the moment.

"It's Viktor, my dearest Lilith. Some ambitious little one has decided to give him an early wake up call." Alexander explained once he had finished voicing his amusement, "Looks like things just got a little more **complicated** for dear old Kraven! Heheheheheheh!"

Indeed it did.

If Kraven had been truthful about his plan to overthrow the three Corvenus vampire elders, then having another one awake and walking around would most definitely put a little piss in the fop's tomato soup. Whether it would be enough for the fool to call off his entire scheme was uncertain but she somehow doubted that Lucien would ever go along with that bit of news. Lycans, much like their normal canine counterparts, were not fond of being held on a leash for extended periods of time so with their 'time of vengeance' so close at hand, any attempt to put it off would not be received well. The leader of the Lycans would no doubt press on with his plans to attack his hated enemies regardless of whether or not Kraven brought his support to bear. Still, given the aristocrat's personality, he would feel compelled to aide Lucien no matter what since just the elder Lycan's existence would be enough to put his life in danger. After all, it wasn't a good thing for someone whose entire lifestyle had sprung from the death of the leader of his people's most hated enemies to allow proof that his kill was a falsehood to be seen by anyone. True, he could simply kill Lucien and dispose of the body but that would be damaging too since those around him would no doubt wonder how such a large pack of vengeance-seeking Lycans could have gathered in the city unnoticed. Questions would be asked that would endanger Kraven with every answer that was found.

She could see now why Alexander was so amused.

Kraven was now a rat trapped in a corner with three hungry panthers closing in on him and it was always fun to see what the desperate did when confronted with their inevitable demise.

"In fact I think I'll go and see the fireworks myself!" Alexander said as he got off the bed and grabbed both his weapons and his coat, "Besides, I think it'll be a hoot to see dear old Viktor in the flesh rather than looking through Alucard's memories of him. I'll be back later!"

With that he walked through the door without any pause and into the shadows that existed in between one place and the next. She wondered if it was truly wise for him to go alone to 'visit' Viktor and Kraven alone. While she knew that those trash would not have the courage to attack or harm him, it would make the battle she could see coming on the horizon a little less spectacular than it would have been had Viktor remained ignorant of their presence. Unlike the dustbin vampires or True Nosfuratu, the Corvenus vampires were more a plague, a biological curiosity, than a supernatural race of immortals. The same went for the Lycans and since that was the case their connection to the arcane was virtually nonexistent with the exception of a handful. Therefore they could not sense the arrival of powerful forces nor determine their location and this would have left all of them save Kraven blissfully unaware that either her or her savior were in town. She had to smile when her mind conjured the looks that would have been on everyone's faces had Alexander chosen to retain the element of surprise.

Still, she supposed she could gain enough entertainment from watching those filth falling all over each other trying to gain her hero's favor after he arrived. The artificially created True Nosfuratu had already given her permission to piggy back on his mind when she wanted to so long as she didn't go past the surface of his mind. She could watch it all from the comfort of their hotel room and she did have to keep an eye on Sorina after all. She wasn't sure why Alexander insisted they take care of her but her curiosity was such that she was willing to stand back just for the chance to see where he would go with the young lady. Did he intend to turn her like her Tata had that busty blonde haired Brit bint? Was this just a sign of his lingering humanity surfacing as a need to take care of poor and defenseless? Or was there something going on inside his head that went beyond all that to the point where she would never deduce the answers her curiosity sought?

It'd be interesting to find out.

Until then the money they'd acquired from that warehouse of filthy degenerates would be enough to meet the child's needs with ease. So far all Sorina had asked for was some clothing, some food and that was all. A bit of a surprise since the blonde knew all too well that neither she nor Alexander were exactly hurting for cash and that had left her believing that the young girl would pump them for all they were worth. Instead the young one was only asking for the bare basics and perhaps a treat or two in the form of a tasty snack. Did she perhaps see even greater rewards in the future and was merely biding her time while making sure she stayed in their good graces? Perhaps. Then again it could be, as she suspected Alexander believed, that the girl saw them as her heroes and felt hat tagging along with them was the best course her life could take at present. A bit childish in her opinion but then she was essentially in the presence of two children: one human child and a newly made True Nosfuratu. Despite the fact that he apparently possessed the memories and much of the power of her Tata, he was still new to both and as such could not wield them as effectively as the No Life King could. She felt it was an obligation she had, as the daughter of the No Life King, to do what she could to guide Alexander just as he led her through this new world of sanity.

_He is my hero. He is my student. He is my guide._ She thought monitoring what Alexander was doing, _I will follow him._

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_**The Lair of the Elders, Viktor's Mansion, Fifteen Minutes Later, Kraven's P.O.V**_

_He can't be! She's bluffing!_ Kraven thought as he entered the room where the Elders administrated from when they resided here and where two of the three were always entombed.

It was a revered and intimidating rule that the chain of rule would never be tampered with or carried out by anyone other than an Elder. The number of times it had been done could be counted on one hand with at least two fingers left over. In all the cases that he was aware of, the vampire responsible had been executed in the most painful manner known to their kind: death by sunlight. While some might think that this method of execution was merciful, they'd be wrong because those slated for execution were not exposed to sunlight all at once. No, that would have been too merciful. Instead the exposure was gradual, taking place over he course of five hours, as the sun moved through the sky and the skylight the deadly rays came through were let in a little more every minute. It was inhumanly painful and the only person to escape this treatment was Viktor's beloved Sonya, who was exposed all at once to ensure that her death would be as quick as possible. Since those executions, no sane vampire in the Covens had dared to attempt to wake an elder ahead of schedule or do anything aside from perhaps pray in the Lair. Therefore it was ridiculous to think that Selene would dare to awaken Viktor on her own without any assistance from those older and wiser than her. Nevertheless, she had been oddly willful lately, more so than in the past, and while unlikely it was possible his efforts to smother her attempts to lead Death Dealers down on Lucien's pack might have caused her to believe something was up. If that was the case then it was only natural that she would attempt to arm herself with the biggest weapon in her arsenal: the vampire Elder Viktor who saw her as a surrogate daughter.

Walking across the center of the room, he looked about for any sign that Selene might have been telling the truth about what she had done. All three seals that marked the resting places of the Elders were closed with not a single part out of place to indicate that it had ever been opened recently. Casting his eyes further, he tried to see whether anything else in the room had been moved or tampered with but the comparison between his memories and the world in front of him found nothing. He was almost willing to believe that the bitch's statement had been a bluff, a way of throwing him off guard, but his instincts were telling him that something was still wrong. Turning back to the entrance to the Lair so he could examine the security footage of the room and the hallways leading to it, he saw Erika approaching him and prepared to brush her off. While she might be mildly entertaining at times, he was in no mood to be subjected to her antics at the moment.

"I w-warned her. I warned her but she wouldn't listen." Erika said trying to impress upon him that she truly had tried, "She never listens. I should have told you sooner. I…"

"Told me **what?**" he asked eager to get over with this groveling session.

"Her human…Michael…he's not a human at all." Erika said with a bit of disgust showing in her voice, "He's a Lycan."

It took him less than five seconds to find a response that both articulated his rage at the object of his desire insulting him like this, disgust at the idea of a vampire getting involved with a Lycan and a real desire to throttle Erika for not telling him sooner.

He decided to go with the old classic.

"WHAT?!?" he yelled out into the echoing room he was in.

However his feelings were quickly given second priority when rickety voice said, "What's this ruckus?"

It was a voice he knew all too well and one he had hoped he would only hear in his dreams once his plan reached fruition. Shock reverberated in his body as he turned towards the location of the voice and what he saw quickly caused him to think up plans that could minimize the potential damage this unexpected turn of events could bring down on him. Walking out from a side chamber obscured by blood red curtains was the oldest of the vampire Elders and the man whose affairs he'd been charged with administrating during the man's hibernation. Walking along with strong if somewhat unsteady feet, with tubes feeding blood into his back, wearing a purple skirt around his waist was none other than Viktor. The man looked like a walking corpse or a human who should have been too sick to even be conscious, never mind walking about, but he knew better than to let this appearance fool him. From the moment that they are able to walk on their own, the elders possess strength enough to overwhelm any other vampire in the Covens. Even if he were to charge his superior head on right now and attempt to slay him, it would be an act of futility and he would not lose all he had gained in such a manner. Going down to one knee as one of the Three came to a stop in front of the throne, he schooled his features in the configuration of a loyal servant and subordinate while he waited for the older vampire to speak.

"Leave us." Viktor commanded as he and Erika rose to their feet and, for a moment, he wondered if the elder vampire meant him.

Fortunately Erika, for once in her life, did something useful to him and left the room before him with not a single word of restraint from Viktor. Breathing a sigh of relief that he was still held in good enough regard to be allowed a private audience with one of the Three Corvenus vampire Elders, he waited for the words he knew were coming.

"Do you know why I have been awakened…, **servant**?" Viktor asked, putting extra emphasis on where the two of them stood in relation to one another.

"No, my Lord." He replied deciding that it might be prudent to keep his responses straight and to the point, "But I will soon find out!"

"You mean when you find **her**." Viktor said in a way that made it more of a statement of fact than a question.

"Yes, my Lord." He said, realizing that even in his newly awakened state the Elder before him was still in possession of a sharp and insightful mind.

"You must let her come to me. We have much to discuss, Selene and I." Viktor said as he seemed to visibly weaken, "She has shown me a great many **disturbing** things. Things that will be **dealt** with soon enough. This Coven has grown **weak**, **decadent**, so much so that perhaps I should have left someone else in charge of my affairs."

It was then that something he had theorized would happen occurred.

One of the reasons why only Elders would permitted to awaken one of their brethren was because only they possessed both the skill and experience necessary to transfer their memories in a controlled manner. It was the method they had always used since the chain of rule had begun so that when one assumed control they would have complete knowledge of what had been done in the previous Elder's reign down to the smallest detail. In the few times that it had been tried by younger vampires, the information was without exception garbled, distorted and without any sense of temporal progression. Memories of thirty years ago became mixed with events that happened over a century ago and the emotions that went along with the rest faired little better.

"Still…her memories…are chaotic!" Viktor gasped as he tried to bring some semblance of order to the chaos in his mind, "There's no sense of time…"

"Please, my Lord. Let me summon assistance. You are in need of rest." He said, trying to buy some time to think while also appearing to be concerned for his 'Lord'.

This however turned out to be the wrong thing to say since one moment later Viktor was once again in full control of his mind and did not look pleased.

"I've rested enough. What you will do is summon Marcus." Viktor commanded with a tone that would not be second guessed.

This came as something of a surprise as he'd been certain that Selene's memories would have informed the Elder that his comrade still slumbered and that it was Amelia who ruled now. For a moment he considered constructing some sort of fairytale about why Marcus was out of contact and then add some false information that would turn Viktor from an enemy into an asset. However he knew that lying at this point would most likely only place him in further trouble so he decided to stay honest for the time being.

"But he still slumbers, my Lord." He said carefully so as not to anger the one before him, "Amelia and the council members are arriving tomorrow to awaken Marcus rather than you my Lord. You've been awakened a full century ahead of schedule."

"Perhaps he has but seeing as how we have some uninvited guests outside the city, I'd say that that was a good thing." Came a voice had had not heard from in over twenty-four hours.

Both he and Viktor turned and watched as a young True Nosfuratu, the self-proclaimed No Life Prince, passed through the darkened walls of the chamber like they were made of water. While he had not given the youth much thought since their impromptu meeting, he had wistfully hoped that that youth would choose to be an ally of his. While unpleasantly true, it was a fact that the True Nosfuratu breed of vampire were in the possession of power far beyond anything the Corvenus breed was capable of obtaining or controlling. It was fortunate then, though, that the number of True Nosfuratu in the world was so few that they rarely had reason to cause trouble for one another. If this 'No Life Prince', however, had a true connection to the No Life King Alucard then it could be that he possessed a…unique way of looking at things. One of the more dangerous views was that eternal life was boring and to endure that it is necessary to either seek out amusement or somehow bring about an amusing occurrence. What tended to amuse them usually was chaos, conflict and the upsetting of the natural order of things in whatever region they happened to be in. If that was the case here, then the young man walking casually towards him now might very well make his current situation even worse if he happened to be 'bored' at the moment.

"A True Nosfuratu?! Who are you?" Viktor asked with surprise clearly in his voice.

"My true name is only for those I call friend, Lord Viktor." Replied the young man as he casually took in the Lair, "If you need to call me something, then just call me… Adrian. As for the news I bring, I thought you might like to know that a group of Iscariot operatives has set up camp outside the city. I believe you know why they are likely here."

"Iscariot!?! Impossible! They wouldn't dare show their faces here after being defeated by us." Viktor said in shock and denial at what he was hearing.

"It is ever the mistake of the young to think they can do better than their elders." Adrian stated with an amused smile, "No doubt the current Iscariot think that it is impossible for them to fail in their self-proclaimed purpose to obliterate all unholy creatures and heretics. So you can probably guess why it'd be a good idea to have more than one Elder up and about with them preparing to make pests of themselves."

"Just how did you come by this information?" He asked, not liking the direction things were going, "I find it odd that you 'just happened' to learn about a group of Iscariot operatives when our own forces haven't heard a single thing about it."

While he was concerned about the possibility of the Vatican's Section Thirteen being near the city, he had to downplay the possibility or else Viktor would put every Corvenus vampire on alert in order to repel a potential attack. Amelia's train might even be stopped before it got to the city and that would put his arrangement with Lucien in danger as well as his own overall plan to become the sole leader of the Corvenus vampires.

"Their presence is like an eyesore to my breed of vampire. Their 'holy' blight on this land was easy to perceive." Adrian replied with contempt as he looked at those beneath him, "As for your forces… they gave grown arrogant and fat in the last century. They wouldn't recognize anything less than an obvious threat that came up slapped them across the face."

"May I remind you, 'Adrian', just whose home you are in and that you were not invited here." Viktor said coldly after recovering from the shocks he had just been dealt, "As for your claim concerning Iscariot planning an attack on us, it will be investigated and **confirmed** by us. Now leave."

"As you wish, **Lord** Viktor. Heheheheheheheh!" Adrian chuckled before fading from sight as though he had never been there to begin with.

For a few moments no one said anything and he personally tried to think how he could turn everything to his advantage. With the exception of a few who were fanatically loyal to Viktor, he had just about every vampire in the region under his control. It would not be difficult to persuade them to provide Viktor with the 'results' that were most beneficial to his situation. The problem though rested with those that couldn't be lured over to his way of thinking or would only alert the Three Elders of his intentions. The direct approach would be to order those he could control to 'eliminate' those that would not obey him and then spin whatever recon report he wanted while explaining away the deaths as being the work of some random demon hunters. There were enough of them around that the explanation might stick and if he managed to blow things up a bit, Viktor would find nothing amiss with his words and instead would only ridicule him for letting the Death Dealers become so mediocre. Still, with Selene being so suspicious of him lately and passing that lack of trust onto others, the bodies of the 'victims' would have to be pretty heavily damaged to ensure that they'd die. This would mean it'd be more beneficial to blame a small pack of Lycans for their deaths but again that would appear questionable either concerning the power the Lycans have been able to obtain or the drop in the skill of Death Dealers. In the end the most he could hope for would be to somehow accelerate the plan to dethrone the Three Elders and hope that he could take the reigns of power before Iscariot supposedly attacked.

"Order three Death Dealer reconnaissance teams to investigate the claims of this 'Adrian'. Have them search all the most likely staging areas outside of the city and report back the moment they find anything of significance." Viktor ordered with a 'do not betray me' tone in his voice, "Send four squads of Death Dealers to the train station to await Amelia's arrival as well. If there is some truth to the True Nosfuratu's claims then we must leave nothing to chance nor show any weakness if we are to repel this Iscariot assault."

"At once, my Lord." He said bowing his head before turning to carry out the orders he'd been given.

As soon as he was far enough away from the Lair, he began making choices concerning who he'd assign to the various tasks and how he could make sure it would benefit him in some way. He could assign those Death Dealers that had not been turned to his way of thinking to the reconnaissance teams in the hopes that those Iscariot fools would do away with them. He would send Soren, his team and a few others loyal to him to 'pick up' Amelia and her entourage as planned but, instead of sending them out with the standard package, he would ensure that they went out fully armed just in case Iscariot showed up. With a bit of luck he could use those unwise few who didn't see the wisdom of following him to reduce Iscariot numbers and buy him enough time for his original plan to succeed. Once that was done, the assault by the Vatican's Section Thirteen would force those few who still sat on the fence to join his side or perish.

_Perhaps if I play my cards right I could perhaps even achieve greatness surpassing Viktor in every way._ He thought feeling his earlier concerns became hopeful ideas, _By leading the Coven against Iscariot and repelling them after the 'tragic deaths' of the Three Elders, I would be seen as being stronger than all of them! Perfect!_

As the regent of the Coven walked away from the lair scheming his schemes, he did not even notice the crimson eye hanging in the shadows with great amusement twinkling in its depths.

The fun would soon begin.

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_**Outside of the City, Six Hours Later, Staging Area of Vatican Section Thirteen**_

'_**Commander' Timothy's P.O.V**_

"Brother Timothy! I have news!" Came the voice of one of the soldiers that had been placed under his command.

He wasn't sure who the person was as, prior to today, he'd never really associated with the more combat centered members of Iscariot as he had been more of a research oriented member. Nevertheless he would do his best to lead this group of operatives and would return to the Vatican victorious with word of the deaths of the Corvenus vampires and this No Life Prince. So if this operative had important information then he would listen and hope that this did not prove to be a waste of time.

"Speak then, my friend. What news have you that is so important?" He asked, trying to sound both professional and yet not too far from the common man either.

"I bring word from the recon teams in the city. We have chosen an excellent time to wipe the filthy monsters from this city of the faithful." Replied the subordinate with a feral smile on his face, "It would appear that the Corvenus vampires are soon to hold a ceremony wherein rule over the Covens is passed from one of their Elders to another. The current ruler is expected to arrive by train tonight with the ceremony happening mere hours afterwards. This is the perfect opportunity to strike a crippling blow to those abominations and purify this land!"

Indeed it was a most fortuitous turn of events.

He had come to this city with only the decimation of the Corvenus vampires present along with the No Life Prince that he had been told was most certainly still in the city. Now he had the chance to obliterate the Corvenus Covens leadership along with what was no doubt to be a gathering of their most influential members AND the No Life Prince. He almost smiled gleefully at the glory this would earn him upon his victorious return to Section Thirteen HQ but stopped such thoughts just in time. While it was permitted for an agent of Iscariot to take a measure of satisfaction in his achievements and seek new challenges, it was frowned upon for a member to let their ambitions consume them. It was what happened to the traitor Enrico Maxwell and it had led to the disgrace of Section Thirteen and the entire organizations massive reorganization in order to prevent a repeat of that foul night. So, with the strength of his faith in the Almighty, he forced down the whispers of selfish ambition and kept his face impartial and void of improper expressions.

"It is indeed, my friend, but that only means we must more careful than ever before to ensure that this opportunity does not go to waste." He said with quiet authority as he began to plan the offensive, "Tell the reconnaissance teams to concentrate their efforts on the train yards and the most likely locations for their local headquarters. Tell them to take extra care not to be discovered by the monsters, even if it means a decrease in what they are able to learn. The rest of our forces will prepare for battle and be ready to leave on a moment's notice."

"Ye have a plan, do ye?" Paladin Alexander Anderson asked approaching from the right with a small grin on his face.

"Indeed. The unholy creatures will no doubt dispatch an escort group from their lair to bring the current ruler safely to them. I believe we should intercept this convoy of protectors, disguise ourselves in their garb and use it to approach the current ruler undetected." He said as the plan formed in his mind, "Distasteful as it might be, it will not only allow us to wipe the beast who thinks it rules but may very well allow us to make it past the perimeter defenses of their headquarters before they realize the truth. This No Life Prince will no doubt be drawn by the sounds of battle that will ensue allowing us to dispatch him along with his filthy 'cousins'."

"'Tis a cowards plan! We need not hide from these abominations!" Anderson declared with clear opposition to the plan unveiled, "We should march into that city and let them see their end coming with the light of our faith leading our way!"

"Paladin Anderson!" he yelled with all the authority he could manage, "I can understand your desire to test yourself in combat and your desire to not show a speck of fear or weakness in the presence of the enemy, but you do not see the whole picture. Because of the traitor Maxwell's actions, the trust in Iscariot has been shaken to its very foundations and we are in the process of rebuilding that trust. If we are to restore his Holiness' trust in us, we must prove that we are not slaves to our individual passions but rather a disciplined group dedicated to ridding the world of demons and heretics. This plan will show our dedication to our cause and our ability to achieve an objective efficiently."

This appeared to have the desired effect of dispelling the majority of the man's anger but he could see that some still remained. He would need something more to ensure that the strongest of those under his command obeyed orders and did not start anything on his own. He had heard the stories of 'Angel Dust' Anderson's exploits, how once he set his eyes on a strong monster, he was impossible to stop, and in this sort of situation that could not be allowed. Anderson going off on one of his fanatical rampages in an effort to strike down his chosen prey would only make Iscariot seem like a loose cannon to the rest of the faithful.

That could not be permitted.

"You, Paladin Anderson, will be given the task of slaying the so called 'Elders' of this gathering of vampires and the No Life Prince, should he appear. The rest of us will focus on eliminating the lesser vampires so that you may have your great battle uninterrupted." He said, hoping this would appease the great warrior of the Church, "I would appreciate it if you would conduct yourself as befits an agent of the Church, though. Remember as you fight these demons that your actions that you are representing Section Thirteen and how you fight will serve as an example of what sort of organization Iscariot is. Is this acceptable?"

"Aye. I will conduct myself as a true son of the one true God." Paladin Anderson said formally with a bow of acceptance, "Ye need not concern yerself with me. I will not forget the importance of what we do here when I send those spawns of Satan back to hell."

"I know you won't, Paladin Anderson. You have ever been a loyal agent of the Vatican and his Holiness." He said, glad to hear that the scarred regenerator would not let his unstable nature get the better of him in the battle to come, "Familiarize yourself with the files on your targets if you have not done so already. Then make your way to the train yard to await the arrival of the Corvenus Elder. Wait until our disguised forces gain the attention of her protectors then attack."

With a nod, the most dangerous warrior present left to obey his orders leaving him to begin readying the remainder of the men not already dispatched. He knew that there were those like Anderson who preferred that they combat the abominations more directly rather than engage in stealth missions while avoiding contact with the Corvenus breed of vampire. Other, more thoughtful, agents of Iscariot had shown that they could perceive the wisdom of his orders and had not raised any objections.

For now, that is.

He knew that a great many of them had already undertaken every preparation needed for battle and were beginning to show signs of boredom at the lack of action. Faithful they might have been, but he knew there was a limit to how long they would patiently await his orders to move out and destroy the filth of this city. Hopefully it would not be much longer before they could reveal themselves in full to their enemies and wipe them from the face of His Earth. He was about to move to the main command tent when the sounds of gunfire reached his ears and, immediately, he looked in the direction of the sound in order to determine who had broken his standing order to maintain silence and secrecy. However it was too far away for him to see anything to quickening his pace to the command tent and went directly to the radio operator.

"What is going on? Who is shooting?" he asked being careful to keep his voice neutral and professional.

"The sentries we placed along the Southern perimeter discovered a team of Death Dealers making their way towards camp." Replied the Radio Operator as he tried to make sense of the transmissions he was receiving, "When the filth closed to within thirty meters from the edge of the forest, the sentries opened fire and are attempting to dispatch the spies before they can report anything back."

_BLAST! Just when matters appeared to be moving in our favor. _He thought before turning to main area of the camp for the duo he desired.

"Ms. Wolfe! Sister Yumiko!" He yelled in an effort to get their attention.

Fortunately they apparently possessed a superior level of discipline to Paladin Anderson and were quick to enter the command tent before coming to a stop before him.

"Yes, Brother Timothy?" Asked Sister Yumiko with her usual soft voice indicating that the pacifist personality was in control at the moment.

"It would appear that we have some uninvited guests along the southern perimeter attempting to flee without formally apologizing for their intrusion." He replied pointing out the location that had been marked moments before by other personnel in the command tent, "Would you and Ms. Wolfe please make our **fatal** displeasure known to these fools?"

"At once, Brother Timothy." Replied Heinkel before the duo went to their tent to retrieve their weapons before fulfilling their orders.

While he was somewhat uncomfortable working with two such mentally unstable agents, much less women, he could not refute that they were useful to Section Thirteen. Given their loyalty to Paladin Anderson, it was unlikely that they would do anything to bring undue shame upon Iscariot as this would displease Alexander 'Angel Dust' Anderson. Still, he would have to speak with Father Jacob upon their return to Rome about devising a stronger method of controlling them. They'd suffered enough due to the actions of madmen and he would not see their cause injured further because certain precautions were not taken.

Turning back to the radio operator he asked, "Do we have any teams between here and the most likely HQ of the Corvenus vampires?"

"Brother Michael's team is about twelve blocks from the ninety percent possibility." Replied the Radio Operator after checking his notes, "Shall I call him back to base, sir?"

"No. Merely apprise him of our situation and ask him to keep a close watch for any unusual traffic heading in the direction of the ninety percent possibility. If abominations make it past Sister Yumiko and Ms. Wolfe, it will be up to them to eliminate the spies." He replied, making it clear with his tone how important it was that the agents of the enemy not reach their headquarters.

"What if they somehow contact their base from here? Using a cell phone or radio?" Asked a nameless technician who sounded worried.

"Not to worry. The recent thunderstorm will have played havoc with their radio systems and cell phones." He said with a comforting smile on his face, "Plus, with our forces assaulting them, it is unlikely that they will get the chance to do much more than scramble to save their unholy lives."

This seemed to pacify the doubter and those like him but the truth of the matter was that it was a valid concern and one he prayed the Almighty would see to in order to aid his loyal children. It also bothered him that they would even send out spies in the first place. Had the mutts of hell somehow learned of their presence or was this simply a random patrol of the area? He supposed that the rather public display by the No Life Prince might have something to do with it but he wondered if there was something more going on that he was not aware of. Whatever the case might be, they could only go forward with their plans armed with what they could confirm rather than what they suspected. They would succeed in the end for they were God's chosen warriors and, with Him watching over them, they could not fail.

Victory was inevitable.

There was no other possible outcome.

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_**Two Hours Later, The Front Doors to Viktor's Mansion, Selene's P.O.V**_

_I pray that I am doing the right thing. _Selene thought as she walked through the doors of the mansion, right into the living room where the bureaucrats were lounging about.

It was a sentence she had either spoken or thought many a time since she'd first encountered a sign that something was not right in this city. The truth of the matter was that she had ventured into uncharted territory from the moment she began to look into the past of the Covens. Such actions were forbidden, even though no reason was given for this it was a law obeyed by all until she felt compelled to verify something she had seen while investigating Michael Corvin. The unexpected discovery of a larger than normal pack of Lycans than she had seen in the past century, the fact that they were stalking a human with abnormal focus and now signs that Kraven was in league with this pack of beasts. When her mind had tried to come up with a reason why the regent would do such a thing, only one prize seemed to be big enough to meet the criteria.

He either wished to become an Elder or replace the Three altogether.

With that theory in mind, she had broken the chain of rule by waking her Lord and Sire, Viktor, earlier a full century before he was due to at the end of Marcus' century of control. She knew she was taking a huge risk, that if she was wrong by a even a bit, her punishment would be the most severe that was possible to be delivered to a criminal of the Covens. However, the stakes were simply too high and the disaster too great if she was right to simply look the other way by looking out only for herself. Besides, she owed him everything; Viktor was the one who made her a vampire and gave her the tools she needed to avenge her family. With so great a debt she could not allow him to be killed by so despicable a character as Kraven or for her people to be sold out to the Lycans. Despite the need for action, she could not dismiss this uneasy feeling that burned just beneath the surface of her skin and, in truth, she was having trouble deciding whether or not it was because of the situation or her interactions with Michael. While he was not…displeasing…in appearance, she had long since put her desires on hold until her revenge was obtained over the Lycan scum. While she did occasionally find herself lonely and in need of companionship, she did her best to make it quick and without any strings attached. Ties to other people could be painful in more ways than one and the only one she cared to keep ties with was the one who gave her this new unlife as a vampire. He was powerful enough that she never need fear losing him to an enemy and the bond of mentor/student she had with him was strong indeed. It had been enough up until now that she had never had to look for anything different beyond the odd dalliance.

Had that changed somehow?

Ridiculous!!

She was a Death Dealer!

Her mission was to destroy the enemies of the Coven and right now the Lycans were that enemy.

To think otherwise was insanity.

She was almost to the Lair when, out of nowhere, a hand grabbed hold of her right arm and spun her around roughly. Her instincts were almost enough to cause her to lash out without thought but, when she saw that it was Kraven, she managed to restrain those instincts. Barely. As much as she might like to put the fop in his place, he still held a position of power in this region of the world and fighting him would mean fighting all those around her. She was not prepared for such a battle.

Yet.

"How could you do this too me?!" Kraven asked in barely hushed tones of anger, "Embarrass me like this!! The entire Coven knows that I had plans for us!"

This time she could not fight the urge to roll her eyes at the presumption of the man before her. He **still** foolishly thought that there was a chance of her falling for his 'charisma' and 'allure', despite the uncountable times she had either defied him or brushed him off as nothing. That he thought that someone as arrogant and scheming would ever be appealing to her was unquestionably a sign of growing insanity. As such it would probably be best to just come right out and tell the fool precisely what she thought of his statement.

"There is no US!" She declared figuring that simple bluntness would be more effective than a long drawn out explanation of her feelings of disgust towards him.

"You'll go before Viktor and tell him **exactly** what I tell you to!" Kraven growled back in a tone that dared her to defy him, "From now on out you'll do exactly as I say! Is that in any way **unclear**?!"

Clearly the man thought her some mindless tramp to be ordered around.

A quick palm thrust to his nose was enough to both break his hold on her arm and send him down to his knees but she knew it was only a temporary solution. If she wished to be rid of him in a more permanent manner, she would have to present her case before Viktor swiftly so as to remove any options for Kraven to use to his advantage. Walking briskly away, just shy of a jog or a run, she made for the Lair as quickly as she could so as to ensure that she reached her Lord before the aristocratic regent caught up with her. Fortunately for her she was able to get to the Lair, open it and slip inside just in time to hear the doors slam in Kraven's face. She had no doubt that the fop would re-open them soon but at least she would have the chance to get a few words in before the fool was in a position to stop her.

Dropping to one knee before her Lord and Sire, she awaited his permission to speak and hoped that his mind had not been poisoned with Kraven's words in her absence.

A sound of dismiss was enough to get her to raise her head and looking into his eyes she could see that, while not the clear eyes she had expected, there was no undue anger there either.

This gave her hope.

"Come closer, my child." Viktor said gently as he had always done in the time she had known him.

Rising from one knee, she took a few steps closer to where he sat but, at the same time, maintained a respectful distance from him. While she might be his childe and one of the best Death Dealers in the Coven, she was still just a soldier and had no right to presume that she stood on equal footing with him.

"I've been lost without you, my Lord." She said, letting her voice carry the deepness of her feelings, "Constantly hounded by Kraven in his never ending infatuation."

"Heheheheheh. It is the oldest story in the book." Viktor said with mild amusement at her words, "He desires the one thing he cannot have. Heheheheh."

She found it odd that he would find amusement in Kraven's mistreatment of her but nevertheless remained silent.

"Now, tell me, why have you come to believe that Lucien still lives?" He asked her in a somewhat cold manner.

"But I've given you all the proof you need." She said unable to keep her surprise from her voice.

"Incoherent thoughts and images. Nothing more." He said, explaining how utterly her efforts to inform him of the situation had failed, "Which is **precisely** why the Awakening is performed by an Elder. You do not possess the necessary skills!"

"But I did see Lucien, I shot him, you must believe me!" She declared, seeing the metaphorical ground beginning to give way beneath her feet.

"The chain has never been broken! Not once in fourteen centuries since we Elders began to leap frog through time!" He said, trying to impress upon her the severity of the situation, "One awake! Two asleep! That is the way of it! It is Marcus' turn to reign, not mine!"

"But I had no choice! The Coven is in danger and Michael is the—" she said before she watched a fit of sorts assail her Sire as memories of Michael Corvin no doubt came to the forefront of his mind.

"Ah, yes. The **Lycan**!" Viktor said with disgust for the eternal enemies of the vampires.

"Please… give me the chance to get the proof you require." She said as the rays of hope began to vanish from her mind.

"I will leave it to Kraven to collect the proof." He said, making it clear that without proof the regent still held sway over both the Coven and him, "If there is any to be had."

"How could you trust him over me?" She asked at a voice barely over a whisper.

This was becoming a nightmare for her as she watched the man she had revered as much as her own birth father preparing to turn his back on her. In all her unlife as a vampire, she had never once lost her faith in her Sire and his trust in her but now it appeared that the bond they shared was not as strong as she had previously believed.

"Because he is not the one who has been tainted by an animal." He replied with sad disappointment, "I love you! Like a daughter, but you leave me with no choice! These rules are in place for a good reason and they are the only reason we have survived for this long. You will **not** be shown an ounce of leniency. When Amelia arrives, the council will convene and decide your fate. You have broken the **chain** and the **covenant**! You **must** be judged!"

With those words the doors to the Lair opened and, led by Kraven, were the secret police whom were charged with policing the vampires of the Coven and enforced its rules. Without a single spoken word they disarmed her and quietly took her from the room in such a formation so as to make escape without injury impossible. They needn't have worried though because at the moment she very much doubted that she could muster the nerve to do very much of anything. The one person she had believed she could count on above all others had turned his back on her and the one that should be on trial was free to carry out his treacherous scheme. She knew her suspicions were correct but it would seem that without the evidence to support them she may as well have been spouting nonsense. As the doors to her room were opened and she was violently pushed inside she wondered if she would be able to free herself in time to save all that she held dear.

"You should have listened to me and stayed out of this!" Kraven said with anger simmering beneath the surface, "Now you'll be lucky if I can convince the council to spare your life!"

"Tell me something: Did you have the nerve to cut the skin from his arm or did Lucien do it for you?" She asked if for no other reason than to let the fop know she wasn't broken inside just yet.

He fumed for a few seconds before saying "Mark my words! Soon you'll be seeing things my way!"

Then, with a nod, the doors were closed in her face, leaving her to begin formulating a plan of escape and a way that she could acquire the evidence she needed to turn the situation around. It would not be easy given the heightened security on the estate due to the impending arrival of Amelia and the lack of tools would be a problem. Moving about the room, she began to take stock of the various hiding places she had for weapons and tools that she had made for just such a situation. Sadly she soon found out that virtually all of her hiding places had somehow been discovered and their contents pillaged entirely. Had Kraven somehow anticipated this? No. He was an aristocrat, a politician, so he would not possess the necessary mindset to find her hidden cache. More than likely it had been Soren and his men. The man had once been the personal bodyguard of Viktor himself before an ancient failure had caused him to be demoted to the subordinate of the regent. He was a sharp and crafty vampire, making the task of finding hidden items easy for him. If that was indeed the case then her situation had just become that much more difficult and her escape that much more daunting to accomplish.

Nevertheless she had to try or else all she had protected and fought for would fall to ashes in the flames of Kraven's ambitions.

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	7. A Blast No One Will Forget

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted materials found herein. They are the rightful property of their creator's and associated companies. I make no money off of this fanfic whatsoever nor do I plan to make money off of it in the future. I am writing for my own amusement and for the enjoyment of those who like to read my works. So do not take legal action against me since I can promise that the legal fees will far outstrip anything that could be gained from me.

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_**The Train Yards of Pardubice, Train #424-287, One Hour Later, Amelia's P.O.V**_

Something was going to happen tonight and Amelia did not like the fact that she could not perceive whether it would be something that would benefit her kind or harm it. There had been nothing substantial per se to explain this feeling, no report or piece of evidence, but rather what the humans would refer to as a 'gut feeling'. Given this being the case, she had kept her unease from showing on her face and maintained the appearance of a vampire far above those who followed her orders. Nevertheless, she remained on edge and wished that she could have her favored sword near her hand if for no other reason than to take comfort in its presence. However that would cause questions to be asked and weakness to be perceived by the others which was something she could not permit. It was vital that the younger Corvenus vampires perceive the three Elders as being near unto gods as far as they were concerned. Gods that feared not for their own safety save in extreme situations and were immune to assaults by lesser beings. That was the way it had to be.

As the train came into the station, she rose from her chair and, with her entourage grouped around her, they began to make their way to the front of the train where the platform was. There they would meet with the escort team sent to guide them to Viktor's mansion, where a grand reception would be held prior to the Awakening ceremony where she would pass the reigns of rule to Marcus. Not for the first time she wondered why she and Viktor did not simply eliminate the bothersome fool since the man was the sole weak link in the triad. Despite the leverage they had over him, the location as well as the life of the first Lycan William Corvenus, the true progenitor of their kind still rocked the boat from time to time. One century it was a covert effort to locate the prison of his brother and then the other was an attempt at assassinating both her as well as Viktor while they slept. It was always something but, thankfully, she and the one who would rule after Marcus' century of leadership had enough loyal followers that such scheming became naught but a distraction. The only reason Viktor ever gave her for not killing Marcus once and for all was the possibility that, with the death of the one true father of their race, the rest of them would either revert to humans or perish on the spot. Too much of the specifics of how their breed of vampire came to be had been lost, reduced to mere stories, and even with the benefits of modern technology too many centuries stood between the beginning and now to draw any solid conclusions. Thus, with the possibility that the end of Marcus would lead to the end of their kind, the idiot was permitted to live albeit with periodic reminders of who was truly in control.

As she entered the final car she sees the Death Dealer whose duty it was to use a flashlight to send a coded message to the escort team to verify their identity as well as state their own. It was a security measure adopted after an attempt by a group of human demon hunters to ambush a courier group transporting documents detailing the Coven's plans for the next century. Thus a code was developed to be used in conjunction with either a shuttered lantern or, more recently, battery-powered flashlights, ensuring that only if the proper counter code was given would it be save to emerge from the train.

"Has the proper counter code been given?" She asked imperiously as she glanced out the window herself easily spotting the group of Death Dealers dispatched by Kraven.

"Yes, my Lady, but…" replied the Death Dealer attached to her guard detail.

"But what?" She asked not liking the indecision in his eyes, "Speak up!"

"While the intervals between the flashes were correct, the Death Dealer holding the light seemed to have an unsteady hand by my reckoning." Replied her subordinate tentatively making his uncertainty clear, "It could be nothing more than the man putting some liquor in his blood before coming here but it bothered me."

True.

It had been a rather annoying trend among those that chose to side with the Regent Kraven that they took to behaving like spoiled aristocrats, even those that were merely garden variety Death Dealers. She had hoped that for an event as serious as an Awakening that the fool would try to appear more professional but she supposed his sense of indulgence knew no bounds. She was just about to tell her entourage that they were about to leave when a sound reached her ears that all Corvenus vampires learned to recognize from a very early age after being sired. It was the sound of a Lycan sounding the charge into battle! At once all the Death Dealers on the train readied their weapons while directing most of their attention to the side opposite that which Kraven's subordinates were positioned. With a bit of luck they would be able to push back the initial wave of Lycans, allowing for her to make it to the vehicles of the escort team on the platform. From there they could easily outrun the foul beasts, thus making it back to Viktor's mansion where she would personally chastise Kraven for allowing such an obviously large group of dogs to enter the city.

However she would be surprised once again this night as, without warning, automatic gunfire resounded throughout the air but it came not from her men but rather from Kraven's Death Dealers. Even more shocking was the fact that instead of being aimed at the oncoming Lycans, she watched as members of her own entourage fell to the ground in pain. Dropping immediately herself, she could feel as numerous rounds just barely missed her head before she was crouched low enough that the reinforced metal of the train car shielded her from further onslaughts. Had Kraven gone **MAD**? She knew that the fop's ambitions ran deep but did he really think that he could try to assassinate her and succeed!? Growling with anger and promised revenge, she crawled in a most undignified manner towards the car behind the one she was in as she recalled that there was an ornamental broadsword hanging on the wall therein. Not what she would have preferred but with her favored blade currently in the cargo car, it was too far away for her to reach it in time before her attackers managed to board the train. It was **so** undignified crawling around on all fours like this but she had no choice since raising her head any higher would expose her to fire from Kraven's traitorous forces. Therefore she suffered through the indignation of crawling taking what solace she could from the fact that once she armed herself, she would be able to avenge this front to her personage.

It took a few minutes but eventually she got within arm's reach of the sword and did not hesitate to reach for its hilt with her sword hand.

"Go ahead, monster. Take up that sword. It would nae do to strike down even a foul beast like yerself while yer unarmed." Spoke a man's voice with mock politeness as booted feet stalked towards her on the wooden floor of the train car.

Turning her head she faced a sight she had not seen before save in files detailing the current enemies of her people and, quite frankly, she would have preferred it stayed that way. Walking toward her, clad in a grey trenchcoat, white gloves, black boots, white priest clothes and a large silver cross hanging from his neck, was none other than Paladin Alexander Anderson of the Vatican's Section Thirteen. He has earned many other names amongst the various breeds of monster and vampire that inhabited the world but for her kind 'Off with it's head' Anderson was the one that stuck out the most. She has never had the dubious pleasure of meeting the man before tonight and, truth be told, she had toyed with the idea of challenging the man one day to see who was truly superior with a blade. At the moment, though, lacking her armor and favored sword, she could not help but feel a tad underprepared to face the self-proclaimed bane of all unholy creatures.

"Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and for thy possession, the ends of the earth. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces, like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore ye kings. Be admonished ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way, though his wrath be kindled but a little." Anderson prayed as he pulled two of his trademark blessed silver bayonets from his coat, "AMEN!!"

Summoning up all her courage, she tore the sword from its hooks on the wall and took up a ready stance glaring at the assassin of the Catholic Church for all that she was worth. While she might be at a disadvantage against this foul Regenerator, she refused to show fear in front of him, she refused to appear weak before him, and she refused to sully her pride as a Corvenus Elder because of him.

"It is appropriate, indeed, that you choose to pray before entering into, battle Anderson." She said, putting great distaste into his name, "For you will soon be face to face with your so-called God!"

"I am not afraid to die for my Lord, unholy beast." Anderson said with a manic smile as he took up a combat stance of his own, "For when I die, I will ascend to my Lord's kingdom and enjoy all the blessings found therein. You will find nothing but oblivion waiting for you after I finish tearing you limb from limb!"

With those words the battle was joined with her years of experience and status as a Corvenus Elder being matched against the strongest warrior the Vatican had produced in the last fifty years.

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_**Viktor's Mansion, Twenty Minutes Later, Selene's Room, Selene's P.O.V**_

_I have to get out of here!!_ Selene thought as she paced about her room trying to figure out a way that she could turn matters around.

As it stood, her attempt to expose Kraven as being in collusion with Lucian had backfired on her since the memories that had been transferred to Viktor had been too disjointed to be taken seriously by her Lord. As such she only had her own to use in her defense and that was apparently not enough, especially given her Lord's strong distaste for the Lycans. While it should have been clear that her only interest in Michael Corvin was his role in the conspiracy between the Lycan Alpha and Kraven, her position had become misinterpreted. Now she was confined to her room and set to face trial not only for waking up Viktor ahead of schedule but also for aiding and abetting a Lycan rather than killing him on sight. Could her Lord not see that all she had done she had done for his sake and the sake of the Coven!? While she could reluctantly admit that she had no documentation or any other form of concrete proof that something was afoot, she most certainly had enough circumstantial proof to justify her actions. It was too bad that no one else thought so and, with the Awakening ceremony only hours away and Amelia's arrival even sooner, she did not have a lot of time to come up with a plan of action.

The lights suddenly died in her room died and, as she looked about to determine what had happened, she realized that she could hear the rushed sounds of both guards as well as their dogs stirring up a commotion outside. It was then that she realized that the problem with the lights wasn't just her room but that the power of the entire complex had been shut down. Was Kraven making his move now? It would be a good opportunity since, without main power, only the back up generators remained and they would be focused on powering the defenses to the Lair where Viktor as well as Marcus were located. That would make the various Death Dealers and upper level aristocrats unusually vulnerable since they would have to rely on the radios to report enemy movements and co-ordinate the defense of the manor. Once the guards and older vampires were slain, it would be only a matter of time before the defenses of the Lair were broken down and the two Elders there would have to fend for themselves. With Viktor still in the midst of recuperating and Marcus slumbering, they would be easy prey if assaulted with sufficient numbers.

She was about to consider breaking out of her room by force when she heard sounds of conflict outside of her door. Turning towards it, she was surprised to see it open to admit Erika into the room with a serious look on her face and a bag in her hand. It was an odd sight to see but she had other things to think about as the blonde bed beauty tossed the bag at her with an almost 'take this and go' attitude. Pulling the zipper down, she was shocked to find two semi-automatic pistols inside, each with a clip in them, along with two extra clips of ammunition. This was unprecedented since she had always known that the blonde saw her as a rival for the affections of Kraven and had only been nice to her because it would benefit how she looked to the Regent. Considering that the fop wanted her to stay put, cutting the power and arming her with the means to escape would run contrary to this desire to win Kraven's favor.

"Why are you helping me?" She asked after zipping the bag back up.

"I'm not. I'm helping me." Erika replied without an inch of warmth.

It was then that she understood what was going on even as the blonde tossed her a set of keys to a vehicle that presumably was parked outside. By helping her to escape, Erika was giving her the chance to add to her crimes and no doubt hoped that she would break so many laws that not even Kraven's position as Regent would keep her from being executed. Once she was dead, the blonde would have no other rivals and it might even be enough to get the object of her affection to finally take her affections more seriously. In short, it was precisely as Erika said it was: she was helping herself and that was it.

Regardless of that fact, she couldn't pass up this chance to gather the evidence she needed to expose the truth about Kraven, Lucian and Michael. Grabbing her coat from the chair, she slipped it on with practiced ease before sliding the two semi-autos into the holsters built into the coat while turning towards the window. With a leap that was like child's play to her, she dropped to the ground and stealthily moved towards the place where the cars were located. Just because the main power was down didn't mean the Death Dealers patrolling the grounds were any less alert or would prove to be any less of an obstacle. Though it took a little more time than she'd like, she eventually made it to the right car and, once inside, peeled out through the front gates at full speed, kicking up gravel all the way. She knew she had to get to Michael first and hopefully he would still be where she left him. If he had somehow been located by the Lycans then she would lose her one bargaining piece that could turn the entire situation around to something more to her liking. As she turned down a street, she noticed a large truck following her and it didn't take her long to deduce who it must belong to. Apparently the Lycans were not as foolish as she had thought them to be. Instead of searching randomly throughout the city, they had staked out Viktor's mansion to wait for her return so that they could follow her to Michael, thus not wasting resources. For a moment she considered trying to lose them but then an idea occurred to her that caused her to forget that option entirely.

_If I let them follow me, perhaps I can defeat them while acquiring one of them who could support my claim of a conspiracy between Lucian and Kraven._ She thought with a small grin, _Perhaps even learn more about why they want Michael in the first place._

With no further thought she proceeded as she normally would towards the apartment building that held the interrogation room that she had handcuffed Michael to for his own safety. Once outside the car, she entered the building and raced up the stairs two at a time, knowing that she would need some time to prepare for the Lycans. Entering the room where Michael was, she could see that he was tired and likely a bit weak, considering that she hadn't left him any food and he likely hadn't eaten in the last twenty-four hours. However there was little time to worry about that with the Lycans, no doubt coming up the stairs right this very moment.

"We need to go." She said immediately, working to undo the strengthened handcuff and chain that was part of the interrogation room.

It was not really her intention to leave but she needed him alert if he was going to be of any use to her and in case those following her proved too much he would need his senses sharp to escape them. Hearing the sounds of footsteps, she looked to the screens projecting images from the security cameras and saw easily six Lycans within range of the device with four more coming up the stairs. That was ten total and they all looked like they were armed to the teeth, no doubt with those UV rounds, making her odds of victory ten to one. While not impossible she could not take the chance that they might hit Michael by accident while trying to slay her. Bringing one of her semi-auto's up, she immediately began to fire silver rounds in the general direction of the door in order to force the werewolves to dive for cover. Some might even have gotten shot, in which case her odds for success would improve but she couldn't bank on what she could only speculate about.

Turning towards the window Michael stood in front of she said, "Get down."

Waiting until his head lowered to just the right level, she opened fire with her gun and reduced the glass window to mere fragments. Pushing him towards the window, she watched as he stepped up onto the sill and looked outside before looking back at her with a 'what now' look on his face.

"Jump!" She ordered knowing that by now the bite from Lucian should have strengthened his body enough to withstand a fall from this height.

"Are you fucking kidding me!?!" Michael asked incredulously, obviously not having the same faith in his newly acquire durability as she did.

However that was all that could be said because the door to the room burst open to reveal four armed Lycans, survivors of her initial assault, all with a desire to kill her on their faces. Bringing her semi-auto to bear, she opened fire, hoping to buy Corvin enough time to muster enough courage to make the leap to the ground below. Once she was certain that he was clear she would follow and catch up with him so that they could go someplace to regroup and plan anew. While she had initially planned on taking a Lycan prisoner back to Viktor so that her suspicions could be proven correct, if more werewolves had shown up here than she had expected then there could be more outside. With skill honed over decades of work as a Death Dealer, she watched as one by one her enemies fell to her bullets while their shots missed by an inch or more. Obviously they had only recently begun training with firearms which wasn't all that surprising considering that werewolves often preferred to kill in their more bestial form up close and personal. No matter. It'd just make things easier for her.

By the time she was done, virtually all the Lycans were dead but, thankfully, the one she had desired to wing was still kicking if in a bit of pain. He would be the witness she would take back with her to the mansion to prove her theories and exonerate her in the eyes of the Coven. She was just about to check on Michael when the sound of screeching tires and a roaring engine made this desire all the more urgent. Darting to he window, she watched as a police car drove away leaving a street that was completely lacking a Michael Corvin. It didn't take her even half a second to put together what must have happened, causing her to raise her gun to see if she could shoot out the tires or get a good shot at the driver. In the end though there was simply too little she could clearly see and no way of knowing precisely where Michael was. He was important to Lucian and therefore important to whatever scheme the Lycan Alpha had concocted with Kraven. She couldn't risk anything happening to him.

Plus she still owed him for saving her life.

Taking his life would hardly be a good way to repay that debt.

Her only course of action was to take her witness back to the mansion and do her best to throw a monkey wrench into the conspiracy she had uncovered. Perhaps if she could amass a large enough force against Kraven and Lucien with the information she'd cut out of her survivor, it would force them to abort their plans.

It wasn't a great plan but it was all she had.

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_**Viktor's Mansion, Thirty Minutes Later, The Hallways Leading to the Lair, Kraven's P.O.V**_

_Soren's late._ Kraven thought as walked towards the place where his Lord awaited him, _He's __**never**__ late!_

It was one of the more admirable traits about the blonde haired man but not the only one and he had been able to take great satisfaction in the fact that his bodyguard would never betray him. It was one of the most unusual traits that the man had that he possessed no real ambition of his own but rather seemed content with his position as bodyguard or enforcer. This was not due to lack of intelligence or opportunities as some thought, but more likely because the man was old enough to know all of the troubles that came with higher ranks and wanted none of it. At the moment he couldn't really disagree with the man that positions of power came with quite a few stressful strings attached but, unlike his second in command, he was willing to endure that stress. In a few moments though he would likely have to endure some of the most stressful moments ever since he had moments ago been summoned by Viktor. It had been a while since the Elder had given the order to imprison Selene but with the constant feeding of blood through tubing, it was quite likely that the old man was now back to full strength. No doubt the self-proclaimed progenitor of the Corvenus breed of vampire wanted an update not only on the status of the investigation into the possibility of an Iscariot attack but also proof that Lucien lived.

On the former matter, the agents he had sent out had not returned, implying that they had been killed or had encountered a force that was preventing them from returning. He'd commanded the communications room to try and raise them either on the radio or by cell phone but the weather was playing havoc with both and his future Queen's escape certainly hadn't helped matters. Nevertheless, if he omitted any difficulties and implied that the missing warriors had indeed fallen prey to the Vatican's Section Thirteen, the Elder should be satisfied with that.

As for the latter, he could only claim that the investigation into Lucien possibly still being alive was still ongoing and that there was nothing definitive to report as of yet. This would not be received as well but he was not quite willing to turn on the Lycan Alpha just yet since admitting that the mutt man was alive would automatically make him a fraud. It had only been because of his supposed victory over the leader of the werewolves and the destruction of the enemy fortress that he had all that he did. If that was exposed as a lie, he would be lucky if he was merely exiled like Andreas Tanis. It was far more likely that he would slowly be tortured to death in front of the entire Coven so that all could see what happened to those that betrayed the three great Elders.

Seeing the entrance to the Lair, he masked his inner emotions beneath a façade of loyalty and subservience so that his own worries would not tell Viktor the truth. Signaling the man at the controls to open the chamber doors, he entered to find that the Elder is indeed back to full health and is now clad in his traditional raiment of an ornamented leather jacket along with a similarly adorned set of pants. Going down to one knee at a respectable distance, just like the good toady he was thought to be, he greeted Viktor, "My Lord."

"I sent for Selene. Not for **you**." Viktor said as he turned around with a contempt filled look on his face.

"She's defied your orders and fled the mansion, my Lord." He explained working his voice so that it would be clear that he considered himself beneath the Elder.

"Your incompetence is becoming most… taxing." Viktor said, voicing his anger and his growing annoyance.

"It's not my fault. She's become obsessed. Thinks I am at the core of some ridiculous conspiracy." He said, hoping that his words would bring his superior around to his way of thinking.

"And here's my proof!" Rang Selene's voice throughout the Lair as she threw a beaten and bloodied man across the floor.

This was not a good turn of events.

While he did not recognize the man, he could smell the Lycan blood dripping from his wounds even from where he was standing. Depending on how high up the pecking order the old fool was in Lucian's pack, he could know everything or he could know nothing at all. Sadly he could not think of a single way that he could learn that privately and if he tried to exert too much pressure to have the man's words disregarded, he could wind up implicating himself. The best he could do was wait and begin plotting his escape strategy.

Watching as the man was chained to the floor between the seals for Viktor and Amelia he watched the proceedings hoping that the universe didn't once more prove how much it hated him.

"Now I want you to tell them **exactly** what you told me." Selene commanded in a tone that she often used on unruly subordinates who thought they could defy her.

The Lycan seemed reluctant but, like the trained Death Dealer that she was, Selene knew how to exert just the right amount of pain to gain compliance.

"All right… All right… We've been searching for someone with a special trait. The direct descendant of Alexander Corvenus… a warlord who came to power in the early years of the fifth century." Explained the Lycan between gasps of pain, "Just in time to watch a plague ravage his village. He alone survived. Somehow his body was able to change the disease… mould it to his benefit. He became the first true immortal."

The Lycan paused for a moment, as if unwilling to say more, but unfortunately for both he and the Lycan, Selene reminded the idiot who had the power at the moment with yet another squeeze to the wounded shoulder.

"And years later… he fathered at least two children who inherited the same trait." Said the Lycan after recovering from the pain inflicted upon him.

"The sons of the Corvenus Clan. One bitten by bat, one by wolf, one to walk the lonely road of mortality as a human. It is a ridiculous legend!" Viktor scoffed at the foolishness of what he was hearing.

"That may be but our species does possess a common ancestor." Stated the Lycan sounding more interested in continuing the discussion, "The mutation of the original virus is directly linked to his bloodline."

"There is a descendant of Corvenus lying there." Viktor said pointing to the seal of the Elder Marcus, "Not three feet from you."

"Yes…but he is already a vampire. We needed a pure source." Explained the Lycan who looked right back at the vampire that could kill him with a single slash, "Untainted. An exact duplicate of the original virus which we learned was hidden away in the genetic code of his human descendants, to be passed along in its latent form, down through the ages all the way to Michael Corvin.

"For years we tried to combine the bloodlines and for years we failed." Said the Lycan with a trace of personal annoyance in his voice, "It was useless. Even at the cellular level our species seemed destined to destroy one another. That is until we found Michael… the Corvenus strain made for a perfect union. A triple celled platlet which holds unspeakable power."

_I've been __**had**__!_ Kraven thought as he slipped out of the room through one of the side entrances.

While he didn't want to believe that he had been so completely fooled by Lucien this wild story did indeed explain a great many things about the Lycan Alpha's behavior. If this was indeed the truth, the former vampire slave was about to gain quite a bit of power and it might very well be enough to weaken his bargaining position. Centuries ago they had entered into the pact on more or less equal ground with both having something the other needed. Lucien needed to fake his own death so that he could rebuild his army and plan anew while he personally stood to benefit quite a bit by being the one to kill the leader of the hated enemy of his kind. Throughout the centuries since then they had helped each other out where they could, all the while his plan for eradicating the triad of Elders evolved until it finally reached perfection a decade ago. It had all been so **right**. Now though it was falling apart like wet tissue paper in the wind and he would have to act fast if he wanted to turn all of this around or at least make it out of the city in one piece.

At the moment he had only one course of action in mind: get to Lucien and attempt to persuade the mongrel mutt to share this union power. After all if the Alpha had truly found a way to unite the bloodlines, to create a new immortal race, making himself powerful enough to defeat Viktor than that was definitely something he'd like to try. He'd have to word things properly though, give the mutt a reason to share the power with him, because if he failed to do so, he would likely be amongst the many who would die a permanent death this night.

Exiting the mansion, he was glad to see that there was a vehicle waiting for him, possibly belonging to one of the visiting aristocrats come to witness the Awakening ceremony, and without hesitation he opened the door before sliding into the back seat.

"What--?" exclaimed the driver but a look of murder shut him up quickly enough.

"Just shut up and drive." He growled, making it clear that questions would not be welcome at this point, "I'll tell you where to go once we're outside the city."

The driver seemed to get the message but before the vehicle could move even two feet, beams of light from an approaching vehicle glanced across his face. Looking towards the front gates he immediately identified the jeeps as belonging to Soren and while he would chew the man out later for his tardiness, he was glad to have his right hand back at his side. His smile was almost fully formed but it was halted in place when he noticed more vehicles coming up behind Soren's automobiles that he did not recognize. He was about to get out of the car to get a better look at them when the entire convoy of vehicles accelerated until the lead car crashed through the front gate opening the way for the others. Almost immediately the security Death Dealers on the grounds moved to intercept but this only meant that they were the first to die as the sounds of automatic weaponry filled the air. Helplessly, he watched as the men and women trained in the art of death before being given centuries to hone their killing abilities to a deadly edge fell before the onslaught of bullets. Not ordinary bullets, mind you, but he supposed that in the quantities he was seeing store-bought bullets could accomplish the same end result: dead Death Dealers. It was only when the last vehicle entered the estate grounds causing the occupants to step out into the open air that he discovered who these attackers were.

Iscariot was **HERE**!

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_**Inside Viktor's Mansion, The Lair, Ten Minutes Prior, Viktor's P.O.V**_

"There can be no such union!" Viktor hissed with anger at what he was being told, "And to speak of it is heresy!"

"We'll see." Spoke the foul Lycan defiantly despite his precarious position, "Once Lucian has injected himself with Michaels blood."

"Lucien is **dead**." He said, putting an end to this maddening rumor being spouted before him.

"According to whom?" Asked the Lycan rhetorically with a smug look on his face.

Aware of what the mongrel was implying and what his surrogate daughter had been trying to tell him, he looked to where he had last seen Kraven so that his second-in-command could respond to the accusation, he was shocked to find the location empty of all but the air itself. It was then that he realized that Selene had been right all along for there could be no other reason for his regent to leave the room in such a manner. Thinking back to the event in question, he now had to admit that he had been skeptical when a young, ambitious vampire had walked out of the fortress of Lucien claiming to have killed him. He had only been vaguely able to recognize the young man's name when it had been given and while his generals had also recognized the name, they had not been able to tell him anything to support the idea that Kraven was skilled enough to kill the Lycan Alpha. In the end he had simply assumed that the momentous battle had caused the young warrior to rise to the occasion and truly show what it was he was capable of. Add to that the fact that it would have been too much work to search the burning fortress for a body and he had been content to take the hero's word and the strip of skin at face value.

This had now been proven to be a mistake.

A mistake he would soon rectify!

Getting up from his throne he walked around one of the pillars before proceeding to the side of his beloved surrogate daughter Selene, feeling a renewed sense of pride in looking at her. With this proof she had proven her loyalty to him and to the Coven, causing him to mentally chastise himself for ever doubting one he had personally sired. He would make sure that most of the stain on her reputation was removed but there was one blemish that only she could remove. He had faith, though, that she would not hesitate to do so in the slightest.

"I can assure you, my child, Kraven will pay with his life." He said with full honesty in his voice as he began to ponder just the right manner of execution for one so foul.

"Soon this house will lie in ruins!" Said the Lycan sounding certain that this prediction would come to pass.

"Not before you!" Said Selene icily as she pressed the barrel of her gun to the filth's head.

"Nononono NO! Wait! You and you alone will know the truth of this!" Begged the Lycan, no longer sounding so smug.

With a slight jerk of his head he told his favored Death Dealer to give the condemned man a chance to speak further.

"If Lucien… was able to get his hands on the blood of a pure born… a powerful Elder… like Amelia or… yourself." Spoke the Lycan revealing information that he had no doubt been told to keep quiet about, "And inject it along with Michael's blood."

It took his mind no time at all to realize what the result would be, what it had almost been centuries ago with his beloved Sonya, and it caused disgust laced with fear as well as anger to run through his body. A ghost from the past had indeed resurfaced as his former favorite slave had apparently chosen to bring about the very thing he along with the other Elders had done their best to prevent. He could only say one thing to this conclusion.

"Abomination!" He breathed in a low dangerous tone of voice.

"Half vampire, half Lycan but stronger than both!" Said the Lycan, spelling it out for all to hear.

The man was about to say more when the sounds of explosions mixed with the shaking of the room brought all conversation to a halt. Looking about the room, he knew that a more pressing matter than Kraven's betrayal had forced its way in front of him and demanded his attention. The main doors of the Lair opened up and, with purpose in their steps, nine Death Dealers led by the weapons master Kahn, who looked distinctly troubled, if not outright panicked.

"My Lord! Iscariot forces are attacking the mansion." Kahn stated promptly as well as remarkably smoothly considering the monumental nature of his announcement, "Security along with every Death Dealer on the estate grounds are engaged in battle with them but it's not looking good."

"What about calling for reinforcements? There should be at least fifty more Death Dealers positioned throughout the city." Selene said immediately slipping into her role as an elite Death Dealer.

"The storm's messing with communications. Anything more than ten blocks away and it's not getting through." Kahn replied not sounding pleased with the situation at all, "I've sent runners to try and contact them but it's anyone's guess whether they'll get here in time to make a difference."

"Heheheheheh! It would seem that Lucien will have to get in line for the opportunity to kill you Viktor." Said the Lycan with humor in his voice, "In all likelihood, his transformation has already begun."

Angered beyond reason that the beast's words would be proven true he lashed out with his fingertips, tearing through flesh and bone to kill the smirker in an instant. Not paying the dead man any more attention even as the corpse bled out over the stone floor, he turned to his surrogate daughter to truly let her know where she stood at the moment. He could afford no dissension with the enemies of their kind literally at the gates and her response to his words would determine how he would see her from here on out.

"I am sorry I doubted you. Fear not, my child, for absolution will be yours the moment you kill the descendent of Corvenus and bring me his head." He said, looking her right in the eyes so that he could see what her soul truly felt.

There was some fear in her eyes, some indecision, but he was confident that when the time truly came she would not hesitate to place her own life ahead of some stranger who she met less than a week ago. No bond could form in so short an amount of time that could prove greater than the bond between Sire and Sired. She would kill the threat to his rule, the key to the creation to Lucien's plans, and then all would return to the way it should be. Perhaps he would even name her as Kraven's replacement once the traitor's punishment had been carried out. While he was sure she would find it stifling at first, her warrior's instincts being ill at home behind a desk, eventually she would become accustomed to the role.

"For now, though, we must repel these pious fools who think that they can attack us with such impunity. Come!" He said as he strode towards the exit, intent on arming himself with his favored blade.

His sword would drink much blood tonight and perhaps so would he.

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Waiting until the doors had fully closed, he flowed out from the shadows that were plentiful in this tomb/throne room. It had been most amusing to hear all the details concerning Lucian's secret agenda and even moreso to learn that Kraven had been absolutely clueless about it. Iscariot, though, had shown up a little sooner than he'd anticipated but he was sure that it would take more than a surprise attack by Section Thirteen to give the pious peons victory. The Corvenus vampires had home court advantage after all what with this being their HQ and all.

Still… it might be prudent to pay Lucien a visit.

Just to make sure that the Alpha knew that someone else was trying to take Viktor's head before he got the chance.

Looking down as the blood of the dead Lycan began to seep through the cracks between the metal components that made up Marcus' seal, Xander smiled. "Be sure to drink your fill dear Marcus. If Viktor's forces and Iscariot prove to boring, I'll be counting on you to spice things up. Don't disappoint me. HehehehehehehahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

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_**The Network of Tunnels Beneath the Subway System of Pardubice, Ten Minutes Later**_

_**Lucien's P.O.V**_

_Tonight, my dearest Sonya, tonight I will gain a power strong enough to destroy the man who took you from me._ Lucien thought as he inspected the syringes and other tools, _I will make him __**suffer**__!_

Hearing sounds of movement coming from his left, he turned to see that his co-star for this evening, one Michael Corvin, was finally coming around. It had been a bit off putting to see him arrive being carried by the spies he had in the local Police department but when they explained the situation, he could understand their actions. In order for the plan to work, Michael had to remain predominantly human otherwise he would full change into a Lycan, thus rendering his opportunity to so much crap. He knew he could have probably simply asked the men to extract a syringe or two of blood then dump the body someplace but he believed it would be better to keep the young man close. This was after all an experiment and as such if something went wrong it would behoove him to keep all the ingredients nearby so everything could be examined for flaws. Now that the descendant of Alexander Corvenus was awake, he supposed it was time to be the gracious host and answer what questions the man might have.

"You've been given an enzyme to stop the change." He said, perceiving that the man would be most concerned about his physical condition upon awakening, "It may take a few minutes for the grogginess to dissipate."

Turning back to the tools that would soon be employed it was only when he heard the sound of shattering glass that he turned around to find the needle his subordinate had been meant to use broken on the floor. He also saw the subordinate backhand Michael in retaliation for breaking the needle. This would not do at all. He knew how his soldiers could occasionally overdo things and he could not take the chance of this one snapping his specimen's neck by accident.

"That's **enough**! Just go and see what's keeping Raze, will you?" He asked, trying to keep his temper in check since he felt like giving the fool a thrashing for his hasty actions.

Once he was sure that his status as Alpha was still holding, the man firmly he turned back to Michael slipping back into the role of gracious host.

"I really must apologize. He's in desperate need of a lesson in manners." He said, approaching the young man that held the key to his revenge, "Speaking of manners, where are mine? Forgive me. I am Lucien."

Reaching up he pulled the gag that had been used to keep the human silent from his mouth. He couldn't very well have a conversation with the fellow if the words came out all muffled and distorted now, could he?

"I need to go. I need to get back." Michael said with a light insistence since he no doubt knew that barking orders would get him nowhere at all.

"Shhhhh. There's no going back. There's no going anywhere." He said as he used a cotton ball to sterilize Corvin's arm, "The vampires will kill you on sight. Just for being what you are. One of us. You **are** one of us."

Putting the cotton ball down, he picked up the first of the syringes and pierced Michal's skin right near a major vein.

"What are you doing?" Michael asked calling his medical expertise to the front of his mind.

"Bringing an end to this conflict." He replied simply as he watched the precious blood flow into the syringe as he pulled the plunger back.

"Your war. It has nothing to do with me." Michael said as the needle was pulled out of his arm.

"My war?" He asked with some curiosity as he tried to figure out what that Death Dealer Corvin had been seen with had told him.

No doubt it was the same bile that Viktor had been spewing since the war began, how foul treacherous Lycans had betrayed their masters the vampires and needed to be killed, and he found himself wanting to set the record straight if only with Michael. However the man suddenly went limp and then began to spasm every once and awhile, obviously lost in the clutches of one of his memories that had come bubbling to the surface. Seeing this, he decided to hold off speaking on the off chance that the young man was seeing the truth of how things began all those centuries ago. Busying himself with other matters, he swiftly used another swab to clean his own arm before he used the needle containing the blood of Corvin to inject the crimson liquid into his own arm.

"They forced you to watch her die." Came the words from Michael Corvin and, for a moment, he considered telling the young man to be silent, "Sonya. That's what started the war."

While the death of his wife might have been the reason for his war against the Corvenus vampires, he did not like to dwell on the details of that horrible day if he could avoid it. Even now, centuries later, the memory of seeing her burn to death while he strained against chains, trying to get to her so he could somehow save her, was still one of the most painful memories of his life. Still, with his revenge so close at hand, he supposed that remembering the past couldn't hurt as it would motivate him all the moreso to tear out Viktor's throat.

"We were slaves once. The daytime guardians of the vampires." He explained while forcing his voice to stay even, "I was born in servitude. Yet I harbored them no ill will. I even took a vampire for my bride. It was forbidden, though. Our union. Viktor feared a blending of the species. He feared it so much he killed her. His had his own daughter burned alive for no other crime than because she loved me. This is his war, **Viktor's**, and he spent the last six hundred years exterminating my species."

"What are they going to do to Selene?" Michael asked, no doubt putting a name to the female vampire he'd been seen with.

"In all likelihood she will be put on trial for consorting with you and then, unless she is very lucky, she will be put to death." He replied recalling the fate of other vampires he'd tried to form an alliance with during the early years of the war, "They have a strict no tolerance policy concern fraternizing with the enemy and Viktor has made certain that it is followed to the letter."

"No!" Michael declared and, with renewed purpose, tried to free himself from his restraints.

In a way he almost wished that he could free the young man because Corvin was now in much the same position as he had been all those centuries ago. A vampire love in danger and an overwhelming desire to save her from what would be certain death, but he could not take the chance that he would be killed before he was certain that the blending of the species had been successful. Once that was done, perhaps he could allow the boy to be set free, to go to his love, and perhaps he would even sent a few of his men to aid him. For now, though, he had to remain here.

Hearing familiar footsteps behind him, he turned and could not help but smile as he saw Raze coming towards him but this smile quickly turned to concern as his old friend appeared to have suffered serious wounds. There wasn't quite a limp in his movements but it was clear that the man would require a moment or two of rest before he would be able to do anything substantial.

"Raze! What happened?" He asked looking at his friend with some concern as the African man leaned up against the doorframe of the lab for a breather.

"We attacked the train as planned and I was able to fill both syringes with Amelia's blood but…" Raze replied as he tried to keep his head steady, "…another group was there as well. Iscariot and that freak show Regenerator, Anderson!"

This was both unexpected and unwanted but it also explained the serious wounds his friend now bore. The entire assault on the train had been planned with the assumption that the only opposition they would encounter would be Amelia and her entourage. If Iscariot was here, then it changed things significantly.

"Oh, don't be so worried, dear Lucien." Came a casual voice from the shadows around him, "This could be a golden opportunity for you if you have the courage to take it."

"Who's there?" He asked as he looked about with his eyes and used his sense of smell to try and place the owner of the voice.

"Forgive me. I seemed to have forgotten myself in all the drama of the moment." Said the voice as a form flowed outwards from the shadows for all to see, "My name is Alexander and I bring you news. The Iscariot forces have launched an all-out attack on Viktor's mansion and the vampires are barely holding their own. Interesting, isn't it?"

"Vampire!" Raze growled as he aggressively pushed himself off the wall and threw off his coat in preparation for the transformation.

It was indeed a vampire but it was one of a distinctly different breed than the hated enemies of his people. He had known that from the moment the Nosfuratu had emerged from the wall and he knew it would be foolhardy to make an enemy of this being. Unlike the others of his pack, he knew that there existed three breeds of vampire in this world: the demonic, the Corvenus and the True Nosfuratu. The first were mere gutter trash, evil to the core, and could not be trusted in the least. Their only redeeming feature being that they didn't leave a mess when they were slain. The Corvenus breed, the species of Viktor, were a more biological incarnation of vampire. They enjoyed many of the same benefits of the trash but retained their souls. Apparently a downside of this was the fact that they couldn't regenerate quite as quickly. The True Nosfuratu, on the other hand, were beings of great power and darkness that no vampire who knew even the slightest thing about them was foolish enough to challenge. While in possession of souls, this breed of vampire possessed such power and longevity that they frequently became bored, causing them to try and stir up some chaos for their amusement. They preferred to keep things interesting.

"Hold, Raze!" He said, commanding his second to take no action against the True Nosfuratu, "It would be impolite to attack someone who has brought us such interesting news."

Indeed it was interesting because it meant that at this very moment Viktor's forces were under siege from a group that made it their business to kill monsters and, by their reputation, they had become very good at it. If he wanted to take the easy way out, he would wait for the battle to conclude and then wipe out the survivors while they were weak. Should Viktor emerge victorious, his forces would be sufficiently weakened that his Lycan brothers would have no trouble slaying those that remained and he would succeed in exacting his revenge of the slayer of his wife, Sonya. If Iscariot proved to be the stronger force then necessity would require that he attack with every warrior at his disposal because it was common sense that those pious fools would come after his people next. They had, after all, encounter Raze and his men at the train station so the people from Rome would know that there were werewolves in the city somewhere. It would be **unwise** to give them any time to recover and regroup so as to start their purge anew with their new target being the Lycans.

"Might I suggest that you use the first vial of Amelia's blood on young Michael Corvin here?" Alexander asked rhetorically but with an eerie light in his eyes, "After all, without your dear doctor to oversee things, there's always the chance that something might be wrong with the ratio between Michael's blood and Amelia's. Why take chances?"

The logic seemed sound enough but there was something about the look in the True Nosfuratu's eyes that he didn't like. It felt like he was being set up to play the fool but, no matter how much he considered the pros and cons of injecting Corvin with some of Amelia's blood, he couldn't see how it would hurt him to do so. Michael's connection to the Death Dealer Selene would ensure that the young man's enemies would be the same as his and in the off chance the man chose to flee with his love rather than fight by his side, it would simply mean on less thing for him to worry about. It would also mean another distraction for Viktor that he would most certainly not hesitate to use to his advantage when he fought the vampire Elder. So while he still had some misgivings, he would do as the powerful vampire in front of him suggested. Moving with the first syringe filled with the blood of the Elder Amelia, he swiftly pushed the needle into the same spot where he had extracted blood from minutes ago before pressing down hard on the plunger. While normally he would have been more gentle he couldn't take the chance that Michael would somehow knock the syringe full of precious blood out of his hands like he had done to the one wielded by his subordinate. He didn't have to wait long before the changes began to take hold and they were truly marvelous making him wonder what it would feel like to experience them himself.

The eyes were the first to change, going from the familiar icy blue for a second before a sea of ink black rushed in from the eyelids to drown all in its path. Next the skin began to darken in areas while the fingers in both hands increased in length with the normal dull nails becoming razor sharp claws. The darkened areas soon turned ink black themselves before the rest of Michael's body followed suit and the area around his mouth began to change developing distinctly Lycan characteristics. These werewolf traits spread and for a moment he was worried that Corvin would simply transform into a more powerful Lycan but these concerns proved groundless. Seconds later the fully formed Lycan head shrunk back into something more human shaped while the wolf like fangs became more vampiric in nature. It was almost as if the two strains, Lycan and Vampire, were at war with each other within Michael's body struggling to achieve dominance. In the end though a compromise seemed to be reached and when the physical changes finally settled the end result was truly a sight to behold.

He **liked** it.

Sadly, Michael Corvin had a different opinion of his changes as he broke free from his bindings as though they had never existed in the first place. Raze tried to restrain the newly created immortal but was knocked two feet into the air and eight feet away with a simple backhand. Watching as a clawed black hand reached out to tear him apart, he almost thought he was going to die when an arm clad in red leather grabbed hold of Corvin's arm, stopping it completely.

"Now, now, is that any way to say thank you, boy?" Alexander asked as though reprimanding a child.

In retaliation the Lycan/Vampire hybrid lashed out with his other clawed hands slicing through the True Nosfuratu's skin like a hot knife through butter. What shocked him though was that the red eyed vampire made no move to evade the blows but rather took them as they came with only a manic smile on his face as a reaction. It took a few moments before Michael realized this as well and a primal look of confusion crossed his features. This didn't last long as with a mix of crimson and black energy all the damage done was healed in the space of seconds until anyone told of the injuries would scoff at the idea. Then, before another word could be said, the True Nosfuratu delivered a thunderous right fist to Michael's stomach, sending him flying to the far wall of the room. This didn't end things though because not even one second after Corvin hit the wall, Alexander was right in front of the hybrid and slammed him into the wall once again with strong right hand wrapped around the former healer's throat.

"A quick reminder though, young one." Alexander said as he increased the pressure around the throat, "Should you feel the need to attack me in the future, be sure that your first strike is the last one. You won't get a second."

With those words the half-Lycan-half-vampire hanyou was released to sag a bit against the wall before standing up straight and letting out a low growl. It wasn't a warning of another attack but a grudging acceptance of the True Nosfuratu's power and the fact that he was in the wrong in this situation. Alexander then turned to him and with an unsettling smile began to walk back towards the shadow he had flowed from minutes ago.

"I suggest you inject yourself as soon as possible, Lucien." Alexander said as the shadows began to accept him into their ominous embrace, "It'd be a pity if you arrived at the party only to find all the fun stuff was over with…hahahahahahahahaAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

Taking a moment to shake his head and wonder if all True Nosfuratu were that mentally unhinged, he eventually agreed that time was of the essence. The best chance for his Lycan pack to inflict heavy damage to both the vampires of Corvenus as well as Iscariot was when the two forces were occupied fighting each other. Therefore he could not afford to linger here long debating whether or not to inject himself with the last vial of Amelia's blood. Thus, with no preparation, he shoved the needle of the syringe into his arm and presses down on the plunger, forcing the blood of his enemy into his veins where Michael's blood was at its strongest. However there was one tiny detail that he later reflected he should have considered before injecting himself with the blood of a Corvenus vampire Elder.

Unlike Michael Corvin he had been a Lycan for centuries and had the same amount of time to become used to it. Therefore the changes by the werewolf strain of the Corvenus virus had been given plenty of time to settle in.

Thus is transformation from a Lycan to a werewolf/vampire hybrid is quite a bit more painful.

He would never be able to recall how long he cried out in pain before he lost consciousness.

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_**The Hotel Where Xander, Lilith and Sorina Have Been Staying, Five Minutes Later, Lilith's P.O.V**_

"You've returned, Alexander." Lilith said without looking up from the newspaper that she'd been reading, "How do things fare?"

"Two of the dance parties have met and the third is almost ready to get underway." Alexander replied as he left the shadows to come fully into the room, "Time to get our things together and join in the fun."

Those words were enough to bring a smile to her face that would make her relationship with Alucard all too clear because it was the smile of someone who was looking forward to the bloodshed to come. As she rose to her feet, she hoped that there would be at least two or three strong opponents on the battlefield, otherwise she would get pretty bored just watching Alexander. It was something she had discovered in the hours that followed their departure from the Das Millenium facility: her newfound sanity allowed her to see the world in such a way that it was possible for her to feel boredom. When she was insane, there had always been something to amuse her whether it was something in the real world or something her warped mind conjured. Now, though… now it seemed much harder to find something or someone that could keep her amused for more than five minutes. She had been tempted a few times to simply leave the hotel room and make her own fun but Alexander had asked her to stay put to keep an eye on Sorina. Both she and the human girl had objected to this but he had promised them a night to remember if they just gave him the time to prepare the dance floor for them. Grudgingly she'd agreed and, as the hours passed with her looking at events unfold in her mind, she had to admit it was going to be one helluva party they were going to this night. The strongest members of the Corvenus vampires, the largest force of Lycans that had been gathered in centuries and Iscariot's heavy hitters all in one place, fighting it out to determine who would reign in this region of the world. There was only way she could summarize her feelings at this point.

GLORIOUS!!

Picking up the things that they had nabbed from the warehouse where they'd made their big debut in the city, she had no difficulty at all with the weight. However it was after she had picked out the weapons she'd use when they arrived there and slung the ones she'd save for later on in the fight over her shoulder that she realized Alexander was looking back at Sorina. It was true that she'd be alone for a couple of hours but the human wasn't that young that she couldn't survive in a hotel room for a couple of hours. However it was when an odd smile that appeared on his face that gave her the first clue as to what was going on inside his mind without using her powers of telepathy.

"You can't be serious, Alexander." She said, making it clear she was opposed to the plan brewing in her fellow True Nosfuratu's head.

"Oh, but I am, dear Lilith. **I AM!**" Alexander declared with his smile growing to inhuman levels, "After all, what sort of role model would I be for the young lady if I didn't take her out for a bit of fun every once in awhile? Do you wish to come, Sorina?"

The blonde native of the region seemed to think for a moment before a feral smile blossomed on her face that for most people would have them begging for divine intervention.

"OH HELL YEAH!!" Sorina replied as she hopped off the bed to her feet, "We're going to have a blast tonight and it's gonna be a **BIG** one!"


	8. The Chaos of Confrontation

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material shown herein. They are all the rightful property of their creators and associated companies. I make no money off of this whatsoever. I write for my own personal enjoyment and for those readers who enjoy my work.

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_**The Mansion of Corvenus Elder Viktor, Twenty Minutes Later, Selene's P.O.V**_

_This is not looking very good. _Selene thought as she dispatched yet another Iscariot soldier before moving onto her next available target, _Where are those __**bloody**__ reinforcements!?!_

Normally her confidence in the abilities of her fellow Death Dealers was much stronger than this but Kraven's conspiracy had left them significantly unprepared for an assault of this nature. With the scheming snake being the regent in charge of this entire region, he had possessed all the authority he'd needed to make sure that only those loyal to him were within close proximity of the mansion. All others were deployed so far out that it couldn't easily take them another hour before they could arrive and, based on the tactical situation at the moment, she doubted they'd last that long. While it was true that they had home field advantage, the Iscariot Organization's surprise attack had allowed Vatican's Section Thirteen to strike first and strike hard. Many of the guards that had been out patrolling the grounds had been slain within minutes of the front gates being knocked off their hinges, with those that survived being seriously injured. Add to that the fact that at least half the vampires in the mansion were fops and aristocrats who had little, if any, experience fighting and Iscariot had a distinct advantage over them. The only positive thing she had to say about the entire situation was that Viktor had ordered the architect behind the construction of the mansion itself to make it as a carefully disguised fortress. Armor plating hidden within the stone walls, windows at strategic positions on all sides of the building, sniper's nests on the roof and two inch thick solid steels doors as well as shutters that could come down with a push of a button were just some of the hidden tricks present.

Those tricks were pretty much the only thing keeping them from being completely overrun by Iscariot forces.

At last count she put their numbers as being roughly sixty-five in total, whereas the number of battle ready Death Dealers numbered about fifty. She didn't count the fops and the aristocrats because, while they might be vampires like her, they were more likely to shoot themselves in the foot than actually hit one of these humans. At first glance the odds weren't so bad because the enemy only had a fifteen man advantage over them and the use of automatic weaponry meant those numbers could go down quickly if her comrades chose their shots carefully.

The problems came in the form of three Iscariot agents who were currently doing the work of five people each without showing any sign of getting tired. The tallest one she could recognize from the files she read during the last intelligence update on the anti-vampire organizations surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Paladin Alexander Anderson. Currently the strongest Regenerator ever to come out of the Vatican's Section XIII in the last three hundred years, he was cutting down vampires as though they were stuffed toys. Occasionally some of her fellow Death Dealers managed to hit him and occasionally knock him to the ground, but then the fools, who obviously **hadn't** read their reports, lowered their guard thinking their foe dead.

If it wasn't for the fact that their being dead only made the situation harder for the rest of them, she'd say 'goodbye and good riddance'.

The next was this Asian human woman in a Nun outfit. She couldn't attach a name at the moment but it was clear that the bitch was one of the Vatican's cracked agents. Those were agents who, while loyal to the Pope, were somehow damaged goods, whether it be mentally or physically, and thus were unfit to be seen working in the more public venues. These sorts of followers often got sent to the more covert groups like Iscariot where they could still be of use to the Vatican but not tarnish its reputation should their 'issues' get the better of them. This one was a berserker since she showed little skill but attacked with such an animalistic zeal that tracking her movements proved to be no easy thing to do.

BANG!

As a piece of the windowsill in front of her exploded into a cloud of dust, she remembered the final member of the trio that was showing most of her colleagues that vampires weren't as superior as they thought. The last one she couldn't see but the results of that person's efforts could be seen by counting the number of Death Dealers with big holes where their hearts used to be or those that were missing most of their heads. A sniper. She hadn't yet pinned down where the sniper's nest was but, considering the number of targets and how spread out they were, it had to be a place with a great view of the mansion grounds. It also had to be a spot where the view of the window she was stationed at wasn't the best because, with the skill the sniper had shown so far, missing wasn't a possibility with a clear view.

Taking aim with her twin handguns, she fired off another salvo of normal bullets, taking down three Iscariot soldiers attempting to charge the front entrance.

Things hadn't gotten so desperate that Viktor would order the steel doors and shutters deployed but, unless those runners got back with reinforcements sooner rather than later, they'd have no choice.

It was about then, though, that the gods proved their existence and their dislike of the Corvenus vampires because filling the air were the howls of multiple Lycans. For a moment she closed her eyes and tried to pick out just how many there were but every time she thought she had counted them all, more made their presence known with their war cries. It wasn't long before the sound of many sets of four legs (or, in the Lycan's case, two legs and two arms that could be used as legs if needed) could be heard and more than one person on either side of the fight stopped for a moment to figure out what was going on.

Those idiots didn't last long past one second.

"Lycan's! At a time like this!!" Exclaimed one of the fops who'd gotten drafted into helping to defend the mansion, "We're done for."

"No. Only you." She said before putting two high caliber bullets through the neck of the coward, "Listen! All of you! Everyone fights! You try and run and I'll end your cowardly existence myself! UNDERSTAND!"

This had the desired effect of making the vampires more afraid of her than they were of the approaching Lycans but she knew that that would change the moment the first group of her people's enemies appeared. Being assaulted by Iscariot was bad enough but if Lucien and his Lycan army attacked, then this area would quickly become a free for all where one could be attacked at any time. It would be sheer chaos! Nevertheless, it could prove beneficial since no one group was on particularly good terms with the other two. If she and her fellow vampires carefully took advantage of the situation, there was a chance that they could eliminate either the Iscariot or the Lycan group before wiping out what was left of the surviving enemy group. It would be difficult but it was the only way she could see her comrades surviving the night.

Less than a minute passed before the first group of Lycans leapt over the wall surrounding the mansion and then things really began to lose what order it may have had before. Firing and aiming happened in almost constant counterpoint to one another with her not being able to spare more than a single shot for each target before circumstances forced her to move on. It was **very** good for her that she was such a skilled marksman that one shot was usually all it took because, if that was not the case, then she'd have been overtaken much earlier in the fight. Sparing what time she could to look around, she was heartened to see that her people had been given at least some good luck since Iscariot and the Lycans were indeed dividing their efforts. Making her way over to Viktor, she intended to advise her Lord to have them take up the strongest defensive position possible so as to make sure that their numbers did not decrease anymore than was necessary. They would need every vampire able to wield a weapon when either the Lycans or Iscariot fell so that they could make quick work of the survivors.

When she looked over at Viktor, though, she saw that something had her Lord's attention so firmly that the sole Elder awake ceased to play with his foes but rather dispatched them in as few moves as possible. Following her Sire's gaze, she saw the man who had bitten Michael on the ground floor of the human's apartment and whom her research had identified as the Lycan, Lucien. The leader of the Lycans was in his human form but without the jacket that she'd seen him wear last time. The man was looking at Viktor with unbridled hate from his position on top of the wall and this fury eventually became too much apparently as the dark haired werewolf leapt from the wall nearly making it to his counterpart in that single jump. With a quick yet graceful move, the Lycan snatched up one of the swords left on the ground by its dead owner and proceeded to march towards his hated foe.

She wanted to get to her Sire's side and help him but there were simply too many combatants that were either Iscariot or Lycan in nature. At this point she could only hear what they were speaking about while keeping herself alive amidst the chaos that had been unleashed.

"It's been a long time, **Viktor**." Lucien said with mock friendship even as he spit out his enemy's name like a curse, "A little over five hundred years if I recall correctly. A long time even by immortal standards."

"Indeed. I shall make sure that **Kraven** understands my displeasure at being lied to and betrayed." Viktor said mimicking the Lycan's tone as well as his dislike for an enemy's name, "Though I suppose I should have known better from the beginning. It was my own fault for overestimating the traitor. Still, at least today I get the chance to rectify a great many wrongs that have been made against me."

"Quite. It would seem we both have an opportunity to gain some closure on the past this night." Lucien said with more anger and venom entering his words, "Shall we get started then?"

"We shall indeed." Viktor replied before lunging forward with his sword aimed at his foe's heart.

With those last three words the battle was joined.

A battle she was abruptly forced to ignore in light of multiple enemies choosing to make her the choice prey of the moment, two Iscariot soldiers and one Lycan. With a set of evasive moves that might look to an observer to be movements from a complex dance, she used her skills with her guns to their fullest. She first targeted the Iscariot since, in the end, they were only human and with a shot to the heart each she expected them to fall quite quickly. However it was soon made evident that these two had had the foresight to wear some form of bulletproof vests that prevented her shots from penetrating flesh. It did, though, have the effect of stopping their advance and distracting them for a moment. This was enough for her to adjust her aim to their heads and pull the trigger on her pair of handguns twice shooting them in the one place they weren't protected. However, as the bullets exited her weapons, the slides locked letting her know that she was out of bullets and as she ejected the clips she tried to figure out whether she had any of the silver nitrate rounds with her.

With a curse, she realized she did not.

With quick thinking, she dropped the guns from her hands and, with a rolling movement, picked up one of the swords strapped to the sides of the dead Iscariot soldiers. Using a two handed grip she turned to face the oncoming Lycan with determination in being that she would not fall in this battle. Watching as the werewolf leapt at her with arms outstretched, she slipped to the side at the last moment and, with a powerful overhead slash, severed the beast's head from the Lycan's shoulders along with both its arms. Taking stock of her situation, she could see no more immediate threats but she knew that this momentary respite would not last long. Sooner or later an ambitious enemy would target her or perhaps one that believed that she was weak enough to gain a victory from. She would take this time to get back to the mansion and get more ammunition for her guns. While she possessed skill with a sword, getting too close to an enemy in a situation like this was not a good idea. It pinned you down and made you an easier target to hit than if you wielded modern firearms. She couldn't afford to be pinned down in a situation like this.

Turning towards the mansion, she broke into a sprint since she knew that the clock was ticking before she was targeted again. Even as she got closer and closer to the mansion, her mind took a moment to wander and think about the human that had started it all.

Michael Corvin.

The man who had tipped her off to the Lycans in the city and whom her Sire had ordered her to kill if she wished to avoid being prosecuted.

Where was he and was he alright?

Those were the things she wanted to know.

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_**Viktor's Estate, One Minute Later, Paladin Alexander Anderson's P.O.V**_

_Today is truly a glorious day!_ Anderson thought as he viciously cut a Corvenus vampire in half from shoulder to hip, _By the time we're done here, there will not be a single unholy beast left in this entire city. It will be reclaimed for the Almighty never to be stained by the presence of Satan's children._

Still, while he was indeed enjoying laying waste to these foul beings, he was quickly becoming bored with these commoners as well. Despite their infernal powers and the weapons they were bringing to bear against him, they were little better than ordinary soldiers in his opinion. No great amounts of skill, no real strategy aside from what a basic recruit from boot camp would possess, the only thing the enemy had to offer were numbers. Nevertheless, even if claiming victory over filth once was fun, it got rather dull after the tenth time unless each successive opponent was stronger than the last. He'd noted at least one or two creatures that might be amusing to kill but they were both on the other side of rather large clumps of combatants from all three groups. While he didn't mind wading through a throng of enemies, there were enough Iscariot soldiers in the mix to stay his hand. He was as devoted as ever to the Almighty and his cause, but the casualness with which Enrico Maxwell was willing to use up the lives of those under his command made him determined to show more concern for his comrades. They might not be as strong as him and may have seen it to be the greatest joy to die in service to the Lord, but he would not send the others to their graves before their designated time. So, for the time being, he would focus on clearing up the small fries and hope that by the time he was done that at least one strong foe would still be around for him to do battle with.

"So, this is the great and mighty Paladin Alexander Anderson," came a mocking voice that sounded like it came from everywhere yet nowhere at the same time. "I must say you're quite good. Maybe the next time my place gets a bug infestation, I should just call you rather than the exterminators. Hehehehehe-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

While he did not recognize the voice, the intimidation tactics and sense of humor was all too familiar to him. So much so that it actually managed to bring a smile to his face since it meant that the so-called No Life Prince had finally arrived, providing him with the strong foe he so desired. Looking about the immediate area for a sign of Alucard's spawn, he soon began doubting the courage of this foul vampire who'd mocked him. This doubting didn't last long, though, for, just as he was about to try and provoke the creature out into the open, a shadow ten feet in front of him began to move as though it were alive. Then, like a creature from a monster movie, a figure rose out of the shadows like it was made from oil straight from a tanker with the only anomaly being that the black substance didn't stick to the figure. Examining the foe, he could see some similarities to the foul Hellsing vampire Alucard but also enough differences to indicate a more modern outlook. The combination of black, grey and blood red was similar but most of the articles of clothing looked to be made of leather or some sort of animal hide. Black combat boots, grey cargo pants, red vest, red trench coat and black fingerless gloves made up the red-eyed vampire's outfit. He could see signs of guns hanging from holsters beneath his coat making for another similarity to Alucard, but the No Life Prince had obviously been a human teenager when he'd been turned into his present, unholy form. Combining what he could see with the vampire, it was unlikely that his potential opponent had been a vampire for very long making him wonder if there'd be much of a challenge in fighting him.

_It does nae matter! It is my purpose, my cause, to destroy the unholy filth that dare tread upon His Earth._ He thought as be pulled out two fresh blessed silver short swords from beneath his coat, _Hopefully, though, this boy will be enough of a challenge that I can get at least some fun out of this before I remove him from His Earth._

"Still, I hope you understand that you'll have to pass a competency test before I sign anything. It's only good business, after all." The boy said with a smile that was definitely inspired by that monster Alucard, "Depending on whether or not you survive, I might just hire you on."

"Do nae take me lightly, vampire. Based on yuir appearance, I'd say ye were turned nae more than decade ago. Yuir about five hundred years too young to be a match for me." He said a little annoyed that this young vampire was not taking him seriously.

"Quite the opposite actually, Judas Priest. YOU are not taking me seriously enough," the boy said as his eyes began to glow a brighter shade of red. "Please allow me to introduce myself: my name is Xander and I guess you could say Alucard's a relative of mine. From what Lilith has told me, you've only faced Alucard when he was sealed under Hellsing's control arts. Let me just say that the difference between a sealed True Nosfuratu and one without anything holding them back is like the difference between the sun and the moon."

In an attempt to prove this no doubt, wisps of black energy began to flicker around the Xander's body and the very shadows about them for easily forty yards began to develop life-like appendages. He was unimpressed. He'd been fighting the forces of Hell for decades and had seen all manner of trickery meant to intimidate the human race. In his experience, the more flashy the trickery, the weaker the unholy beast truly was and rarely did those who used intimidation tactics actually prove to be as strong as they claimed. It was time to either expose this weakling for who he truly was or experience the strength the youth possessed firsthand.

"Then let us see who is the sun and who is the moon! Have at ye!" He declared as he charged the vampire with his swords bared and ready to draw blood.

Minutes ticked by as the two of them dueled with warriors on all sides getting hit each time either he or Xander missed one another. Much like his 'relative', Alucard, the boy used guns but unlike Hellsing's pet vampire, Xander did not seem to be taking care to place his shots in the vital areas of his body. In fact the leather clad young man didn't appear to be putting forth more than the bare minimum amount of effort to make sure to hit something. Did this youth truly think him so little threat that this level of effort was sufficient or was it that he was merely lazy? In either case he refused to let the fool continue to show such disrespect towards him! He was Paladin Alexander Anderson of Iscariot! He was to be respected! He was to be **feared**!

Closing the distance between him and his foe, he used a feint maneuver he'd developed for the trickier demons he'd encountered and delivered a double slash that not only severed the boy's hands at the wrists but also damaged the vampire's guns. He allowed himself a chuckle of satisfaction at what he'd managed to pull off but no more than that since he knew that the monster's hands would grow back momentarily. He was not disappointed in this regard as he watched the bloody flesh from the stumps grow outwards at incredible speed before coalescing as bone, then nerves, then muscle and finally new flesh. He'd still made progress, though, by depriving the creature of his weapons and whether the fool tried to fight without them or sought out new ones, it provided him with more openings for his blades. He'd pulled ahead of the vampire and now it was time to lay the first stone in the unholy creatures tomb.

"Heheheheh. Not bad. You're pretty good with those blades." Xander said flicking his hands to get rid of the last drops of blood, "Maybe I should give it a try."

With those words the vampire thrust his right arm into the shadows at his feet, shadows that once more looked like pools of ink, before being slowly pulled back out. The meaning of this action became clear shortly afterwards as perfectly spherical ruby gripped in the jaws of dragon appeared, from followed by a grip wrapped in black leather around which the vampires fingers gripping it tightly. From there came a crossguard that was shaped like the wings of a dragon before going to the blade which was about thirty-five inches long and eight millimeters wide with a thickness of about half-to-three quarters of an inch. Inscribed upon the blade right in the middle were symbols that were unknown to him but they glowed with an unholy crimson light that made him decide to see it destroyed once he'd slain the sword's wielder. Such an unholy item could only taint the world around it and was as much an affront to the Almighty's Earth as the vampire himself.

"Now that we're both armed with a blade, let's see how things go from here!" Xander said before charging forward with his sword gripped with both hands.

Bringing up a short sword to block the side slash the vampire had executed, it was with great shock that not only did the monster's blade force him to bring up the other but also left sizeable cracks in the short sword it hit. He had locked horns with Alucard many times and, while the Hellsing agent used guns rather than a longsword, he had thought that he had a solid concept of how strong a True Nosfuratu could be. This… this was strength above what he'd expected but not something beyond what he could deal with. However his weapons at the moment, given their composition and their design, would be ill suited to facing a longsword with such strength behind it. It was true that there were a few strategies he could use to eliminate the reach advantage that the weapon gave the vampire but he was unsure if his weapons would last until the final blow was struck.

He needed a change in weaponry to emerge victorious.

Moving with the True Nosfuratu's next strike, he parried it and then, as the cracked sword finally shattered, he shoved the remaining one into the throat of his foe. Just as he'd predicted the recently turned beast reacted as a human would when struck in such a spot and reached for the weapon lodged in the throat in an effort to pull it out. Using this opportunity, he swiftly relieved a downed Iscariot soldier of his broadsword and assumed the proper fighting stance for such a weapon. He watched as Xander finished pulling the short sword from his throat before tossing it aside and attempting to speak what was no doubt some sort of promise of revenge.

No.

As the seconds passed he realized it wasn't an attempt at speaking but rather an effort at laughing if the manic smile on the vampire's face.

"Go—ck… good… hack… good choice, Judas Priest. I-it would have been real disappointing if you'd stuck with those short swords for the rest of our match." Xander said as his throat finished healing until there was no sign that it had been pierced in the first place, "Now that you have a better weapon, let's start fighting for real!"

The clashing of swords was the only response made to that statement.

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_**The Roof of Viktor's Mansion, Three Minutes Later, Lucien's P.O.V**_

"Good to see that life as an Elder hasn't dulled your skills as a warrior, **Viktor**." Lucien said as he leapt back a few feet from the killer of his beloved Sonya, "It would be completely unacceptable if our fight ended before I had a chance to fully savor your pain. I want you to suffer as **she** suffered!"

The look of anger that flared up at that last sentence was more than enough to confirm that the vampire Elder knew precisely who 'she' was and that this knowledge was more than enough to infuriate the bloodsucker.

"She received a fate that you brought upon her, **Lycan**! It was law! She knew it and still chose to defy it to indulge in her twisted infatuation with **you**!" Viktor declared showing his disgust about the entire time period involved, "I could show no leniency!"

"I see you're still spouting the same lies as before. You claim that she was slain for breaking the law of the Coven, for nurturing the child within her that would have been a mix of the species, but I know the truth." He said with no humor and no anger in his voice, "This entire war has been about only one thing: removing a threat to your rule for all time. You knew that if a child of mixed blood was ever created between a vampire and a Lycan that that offspring would possess more power than any pureblood, including the Elders. You feared what would happen if the child was born and so you killed her, your own daughter, without a second thought!"

He could tell just from the way Viktor's eyes narrowed that what had only been his personal theory up until a few seconds ago was in fact the truth. All those times he'd heard vampires spout the propaganda of the Elders, that the war was about wiping out the mongrel dogs that bit the hand of their superiors, he'd known there was a deeper meaning behind it. Off and on for years he'd tried to fathom what was truly going on in the minds of Amelia, Marcus and Viktor until he came to the theory that had just been confirmed. The war between the Lycans and the vampires was not started out of a need to permanently punish slaves who'd rebelled against their masters, but rather a desire on the part of the Elders to eliminate a potential threat to their rule.

"However, I will now show you that your efforts to prevent a blending of the species have been in vain." He said as he called upon his newly acquired power, "Watch **and DESPAIR!**"

He could still feel some lingering pain as his body began to shift as bones changed and organs were either repositioned or reconfigured but it was significantly less than the first time. It only took a little longer than it used to in order to change into his werewolf form and, when it was over, he could **feel** the power surging within him. Looking back over at Viktor, he could see rage, disgust and fear warring for dominance within the Elder. It pleased him greatly to see this and so he did nothing for a minute or two as he drank in the sight of his hated foe as the vampire struggled with the sudden change in circumstances. Eventually, though, past memories prompted him to shove aside the pleasure he was feeling and focus on finishing this centuries long war. He let Viktor get away in their first battle as leaders of their respective races but he would not make the same error in judgment twice.

"Now you will pay for all the lives you've ended in your desperation to maintain your powerbase. Now I will show you how powerless you truly are!" He said as he let his newfound instincts and abilities guide him as he attacked his centuries-long foe.

It was a battle that, at first, might have seemed to be evenly matched to the common warrior.

Neither of them appeared to have the edge in speed, strength or skill but only those with a keen eye would know that he was purposefully keeping it even to give the Elder the impression that a hybrid was not as powerful as had originally been feared. Then, just as he saw the first signs of confidence show on Viktor's face, he began to slowly increase the performance level of his body in all the mentioned areas. As time passed his movements became faster, causing the Elder to push his vampire body harder in order to keep up and, when that proved insufficient, strategic thinking was brought into play. When he increased the power behind his blows, this too caused the bloodsucker to try and match it strength for strength but it was all for naught. With a single slash of his sword, he shattered both of their swords and then followed up this devastating attack with a slash of his claws marring the aged face of Viktor.

"ARGH!! DAMN YOU!!" Viktor yelled as with a vicious backhand the vampire Elder managed to create a break in the fighting.

"Oh, no, don't start cursing me just yet, Viktor!" He said as he began to advance on the vampire Elder, "There's still so many wounds I want to give you, so much **pain** you have yet to experience, that I'd hate to see you run out of curses to throw at me before I'm done."

With true fear now in his enemy's eyes, he unleashed the maximum potential of his new hybrid body and began to tear into the Elder's body with all the fury he'd stored up since Kraven helped him to fake his death. He cared not about the amount of blood that began to cover his body, nor the feeble attempts by Viktor to stop the torture, but rather focused only on conveying his rage to the cause of this emotion. A storm of action matched the storm of emotions inside his body until it finally peak in a vicious vertical slash of his claws that send the Elder to the ground in pool of his own blood.

He took in the sight of his foe as he took a moment to regain his composure as well as his rational mind. Viktor, quite frankly, was a complete mess. His clothes torn to shreds, blood over everything and wounds that, had the Elder been human, would have rendered him either dead or unconscious by now. Even with the regenerative abilities of the Corvenus virus that birthed the vampire strain, the old man before him would require significant quantities of blood to fully recover. He wondered for a moment whether or not he should toss the broken form before him at Kraven's feet to honor the deal made in the burning fortress so long ago. It was after all thanks to the regent's aide that he had been able to slowly rebuild his Lycan forces as well as search for keys to his present power. In the end, though, he decided not to since he knew that even if he went all the way in honoring the pact the ambitious vampire would only betray him sooner or later. Kraven had entered and, up until this night, held the stronger position due to his need to keep the growing numbers of Lycans a secret. Once it was revealed that he had the ability to easily kill any baseline Corvenus vampire, then it wouldn't matter if he gave the regent control over his kind the fool would inevitably plot to retake the dominant position. Better to finish off both Viktor and Kraven before scattering the remaining vampires in the Coven to the winds just as the Lycans were once upon a time.

"Well, I think it's about time for me to bring the curtain down on this battle of ours. My pack needs my help against the Iscariot and, when the humans have been dealt with, I think I'll wipe out what survivors are left of your kind." He said as he stalked towards his prey, "While it's true that there are others of your kind spread out throughout the world, all of the movers and shakers of your kind are here for your little Awakening scenario. What small fry might exist elsewhere will likely cling to whatever power exists in their area rather than try to restore the Coven to its former glory. Die knowing that everything you've built up over the centuries with Amelia and Marcus is about to crumble into a pile of dust."

With those words he brought back his right hand with the intent of ramming it through Viktor's head, killing him once and for all. However, before he could begin the charge towards his foe, a sound reached his ears that made him stop in his tracks. With his enhanced hearing made all the more powerful by his hybrid status, he could hear what sounded like leather in the wind approaching him swiftly through the air. Turning to see what it was, he was unprepared for the sight of a winged hybrid much like himself wearing only a skirt often worn by the Elder Corvenus vampires. That was all he was allowed to see before the hybrid impaled him through the shoulder before casting him aside to roll across the roof. He managed to keep himself from falling of said roof and, even as his hybrid body went to work healing his injuries, he rose to his feet to see who precisely had interfered with his revenge.

It was obvious, based on what he'd learned from his transformation as well as Michael Corvin's, that this was a hybrid who'd been a vampire prior to being transformed into a hybrid. With this in mind he searched through his memories and tried to match the face of the hybrid in front of him to a vampire he'd met in the past. It took getting past the lesser vampires and focusing on the upper elite but eventually he identified the hybrid in front of him.

"Marcus." He growled out as he identified the Vampire Elder reluctantly re-evaluated the situation he was now in.

"Lucien. I see that your planned revolution with Kraven didn't go according to plan." Marcus said as he briefly looked down at the battlefield Viktor's mansion had turned into, "It was a good plan at its core but you should have planned for the unforeseeable like Iscariot."

"It's a basic rule of battle that no plan survives the first few minutes of battle." He said as he tried to figure out what his next move should be, "Besides, Kraven would have become bothersome if I'd altered the plan this late in the game."

"True. The fop always whined whenever someone disrupted one of his 'plans'." Marcus said in agreement as the two of them began to circle one another, "I truly hope you don't intend to imitate him now. Viktor is **mine**."

This would be a problem.

He still desired the right to deliver the final blow to the man who had taken so much from him and the thought of some outsider getting in his way stoked the fires of rage within him. Viktor was **his** prey! HIS! Right then and there he decided that he would do whatever it took to make sure that this vampire dominant hybrid never went anywhere near Viktor. He would kill this latecomer and then finish what he started with his hated foe.

"Then it appears we have a problem. I won't let anyone, **anyone**, keep me from exacting my revenge." He said as he prepared to tear this winged **freak** to pieces, "Not even you."

"Then I suppose there's only one way we can settle this issue." Marcus said as he readied his wings for use in battle.

Thus began a battle between two beings who before tonight would not have even entertained the idea of fighting each other one-on-one.

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_**A Rooftop A Short Distance Away, Same Time, Lilith's P.O.V**_

_Pick a rooftop he says! Pick off anyone that might upset the numbers balance he says! Asshole!_ Lilith thought as she looked down the scope of her silenced sniper rifle, _He just wants to keep all the fun to himself!_

Still, there had been something in Xander's eyes that had hinted at a devious plan being put into motion and her curiosity had been enough to go along with her orders. Thus she had chosen a rooftop that was within the range of her weapon but, at the same time, an excellent sniper's nest and it would provide them with a defensible location. By them she meant Sorina and herself. That was the other half of her orders: keep an eye on the little girl and, if the blonde asked, let her take a few potshots at the beings fighting at the mansion. It had been about twenty-five minutes since they'd arrived and, so far, her well placed shots had managed to keep the Iscariot from bringing in any rocket launchers or heavy weaponry. If anything like those weapons got brought in, Iscariot could make pretty quick work of the Corvenus vampires and their Lycan counterparts. She did the same if she saw one of Viktor's brood attempt to bring out similar weapons. She, fortunately, didn't have to do anything for the Lycans, though, but whether this was because they preferred using claws or simply couldn't afford more powerful weapons. In any case, it made her job easier but also a little boring since the only challenge to what she was doing was making sure she didn't accidently tip things the wrong way and thus endanger the balance.

"What's going on? How's Xander doing?" Sorina asked as she got off of the desk that was in the office they'd **borrowed** for the night.

"The fight is still stalemated between the three groups, thanks to my efforts. Xander is currently crossing swords with Paladin Anderson." She replied taking her eyes away from the scope to look at the teenager, "Do you want to look?"

"YES!" Sorina exclaimed, walking quickly moving over to where the rifle lay.

"I have it adjusted to the right setting so you shouldn't have to mess with the scope any." She said as she moved aside so the young one could get into position.

Watching as the teenager cocked her head to the side in order to look through the scope, she didn't have to ask when the blonde could see the battle.

"Whoa! It's like World War Three down there!!" Sorina exclaimed before pausing for a moment, "Well…a third World War with vampires, priests and werewolves. Whatever! I'm glad I'm up here rather than down there!"

"Indeed. You are about twenty years too young to be fighting on that sort of battlefield." She stated offhand as her own vampire eye sight allowed her to see the battlefield easily, "Looks like such fun."

"You want to be down there, don't you?" Sorina asked, taking a moment to look away from the scope.

It was true.

While she might have some glaring differences with her father, the one thing they did share was the thrill they got from the carnage of battle. The rush that came from fighting someone truly worthy! It was better than **sex** under the right circumstances! So it was fairly accurate to say that she really did want to be down there so she could have her bit of fun. Instead she would have to content herself from messing with the fools down there from a distance.

"You can go if you want. I can handle things from up here." Sorina offered with no humor in her voice.

"Oh really?" She asked, unable to keep her skepticism from her voice.

"Really." Sorina said with a glare before returning to the scope and adjusting the aim ever so slightly.

PHT!

Looking with her True Nosfuratu eyes, she was pleasantly surprised to see the head of one of the vampires explode as the high caliber sniper round slammed into the undead man's head. At first she thought that it was just luck but when Sorina chambered a new round with surprising smoothness and fired again, successfully hitting an Iscariot, she was forced to reconsider her opinion of the girl. It was only when she saw a move that she recognized as hers that she realized that Sorina must have been watching her closely from the very beginning. Yet that didn't explain how the child could be hitting her targets, even with the scope assisting her. Turning to the blonde, she raised her eyebrow silently, asking the question believing the teenager would know how to answer.

"What can I say? I spent a lot of time at the arcades growing up. I guess some of it rubbed off." Sorina replied before returning to the scope to look for her next potential target.

Not exactly the most confidence-inspiring answer but she couldn't argue with the proof she had been shown. The teenager had successfully managed to hit everything she'd aimed for up until now and, with the silencer in place, the odds of the nest being spotted were slim. Still… she was wary of leaving the girl alone. If someone, by some chance, of the concerned parties found her alone, there was no telling what would happen. If either a vampire or a Lycan, they would likely kill the girl out of revenge for the deaths caused by the sniper rifle. If an Iscariot soldier came, her situation might be slightly better but only if the person took the time to realize that Sorina was human rather than a vampire or Lycan. That might get their religious fanaticism going enough that they might feel compelled to free her from 'the wicked clutches of the unholy creatures'. It might also go the other way though and the foolish human might decide that the only way to save the girl was to kill her so that her soul could go into the arms of their God.

Leaving to fight held a high probability of Sorina dying.

Xander would **NOT** react well if that were to occur.

In fact, she believed he would react much the way her father usually did when a human he was fond of was slain in an unfitting way.

While she could not keep from smiling greatly at the images that brought into being within her mind, she knew that Xander would be most put out with her if she disregarded the blonde's safety just to have a bit of fun on the battlefield. Perhaps put out enough that he would not tolerate her presence for at least a century or two. She… did not want that. The young True Nosfuratu had saved her from the control of Das Millennium and was aiding her in becoming more accustomed to her newly returned sanity. She did not wish to be parted from him.

"I will stay. There is a slight chance that someone might find this place and seek to harm you for killing one of their comrades." She said, moving to a chair that was near the desk the teenager had been sitting on minutes ago, "Every sniper needs a spotter, no matter how good they are."

"Right!" Sorina said before resuming the sniping of choice targets on the battlefield.

She had to wonder how the child would fair once all the fighting was over with and the reality of the murders she was committing caught up with her. Humans could dress up things like war, law enforcement and prison executions as much as they liked but in the end it all came down to one thing: murdering the undesirables of the world. Whether it be because they have something you want, have done something you consider unacceptable or simply because you enjoy the act of killing it was all murder in the end. It was all about taking the life of another. While those in the business were somewhat desensitized to the killing Sorina was far too young to have been hardened to such things as blood and death. From what she could ascertain the only crimes that this young one had committed were things like pickpocketing and maybe a con game or two.

Murder was something altogether different from her usual activities.

She hoped that Sorina would be strong enough, both in mind and in spirit, to endure the trouble that her morals would give her later.

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_**The Battlefield That was Once Viktor's Mansion, Two Minutes Later, Michael Corvin's P.O.V**_

_This sucks!! All I wanted was to become a doctor! Just learn medicine so I could help people and save lives!_ Michael thought as he finally arrived at his destination, _Now I'm some sort of monster from a horror movie! WHAT THE FUCKIN' HELL IS GOING ON!?!_

He'd been thinking these sorts of thoughts ever since he'd recovered from whatever Lucien had injected into his body. It had been disorienting to say the least when he'd woken up in that underground room to find just about all the Lycans gone. New smells, new sounds, and more bombarded his mind as he viewed the world to such a detailed degree that the amount of information he was receiving was almost too much to bear. He had snapped his restraints in an instant, without even the least bit of effort, and it was then that he'd gotten his first glimpse of the changes his body had underwent. Claws where his fingernails should exist, skin a few shades shy of ink blank and muscles that were so unlike what he was used to. Then there were things that he couldn't see without the aid of a mirror, something that had taken him awhile to find, like a mouth full of sharp teeth and eyes that were completely black in color. He had almost gone into shock at the sight but then he remembered the current situation including the fate that most likely awaited Selene. That had been enough for him to push aside his own issues and focus on getting to her as soon as possible to save her life. He'd left the makeshift laboratory with no idea where he was and with only one plan for getting out of there and that was to keeping going up until he saw the sky.

Needless to say there was quite a bit of backtracking but he eventually made it out but only to be hit with a new series of smells as well as a problem he'd had trouble coping with. The smells of a sewer hadn't been so bad, although he suspected that that was because his unconscious mind had grown accustomed to the smells. Once he'd hit the surface, though, he'd been hit with such a variety of smells that he'd experienced a moment of dizziness at the overload. A scream of fear had snapped him back to reality and he realized how he must look to the people of this city. Half with instinct and half with a conscious plan in mind, he'd made for the rooftops as quickly as he could. He didn't even realize on his way up how he somehow managed to wall crawl or crush parts of the fire escape as he ascended. It was only once he'd reached the top that he'd realized that the changes he'd undergone went further than simple looks. As he'd heard an explosion in the distance, though, he'd chosen to sprint for the mansion where Selene lived rather than dwell on something he'd need time to understand. Now, seeing the carnage around him, he realized that he had much bigger problems than his new form to deal with and that Selene would need help to survive this bloodbath.

He could identify the vampires based on what he'd seen the last time he'd been at the mansion and he could see Lucien's Lycan soldiers, but there were also humans in the mix. Clad in a cross between commando gear and priest clothes, he didn't know who they were but he could see that they were targeting both vampires and Lycans.

_The list of things I don't understand is getting larger by the minute._ He thought as he cast his gaze about the battlefield to find Selene, _I gotta find her so she can give me some answers!_

Skirting his way around the various battles being waged around him, he did his best not to attract attention to himself. He had no interest in these people or their fights. All that mattered to him right now was getting to Selene, finding out what's going on and then getting out of town as quickly as they could manage. He had a few close calls, moments when he was afraid one of the fighters would come after him, but they always got sidetracked by others. He eventually managed to spot Selene who was fighting against two Lycans and began to make his way over to her when a bloody corpse flew across his path stopping him in his tracks. Looking down at the now still body, he recognized it as one of Selene's fellow Death Dealers but the man looked like he'd been cut completely wide open. Turning back the way the body had come he saw a sight that had him take a step back, but whether this was in fear or shock he would never be able to say. Walking towards him, with blood splashed across her clothes and her face, was an Asian nun with a katana in hand that dripped blood as she walked. However it was not her weapon of choice that scared him or even the fact that she was covered in blood really but rather her eyes.

He'd only seen those eyes once before in person.

It was in the eyes of a fanatic terrorist that had barged into the hospital as he was about to leave and almost killed him with a spray of bullets. A security guard had managed to eventually put the man down but, for the next week, he had had nightmares of the terrorist that always focused on that look the man had in his eyes. It was the look of devotion that danced on the line that divided those that lived normal lives and those that were kept sedated and restrained in a padded room. This woman had that look but, judging from the way she moved and the blood stained blade she wielded, she was still a couple of toes on the side of sanity. At least he hoped that was the reason why she could wield a blade so well because if an insane person could cut people up like this without getting hurt herself, he might just piss himself.

"So… another pig's come to be slaughtered, eh?" The nun said with her odd eyes locked onto him, "A strange one I think but you'll die just as easily as the others. Shall we find out?"

Backing away step by step he said, "I'd rather not if it's all the same to you. I'm not here to fight. I'm just looking for a friend of mine."

"A friend eh? You'll find no friends here, beast. Just executioners and the soon to be dead." The nun said with a feral smile as she raised her katana in preparation to use it, "Shall we see which one you are?"

Deciding that it would be best to put some distance between himself and this crazy woman, he leapt upwards into one of the broken windows of the mansion. With luck it would take the lady some time to climb the stairs or climb up the side of the building to pursue him. He could use that time to slip out of another window and go to where Selene was so he could finally find out what the hell was going on as well as figure out a plan to get to safety. It was because he was so sure that she would not be immediately behind him that he was surprised to hear the sound of feet touching down on the window sill a few seconds after he'd landed there himself. Turning around, he was shocked to see the katana wielding woman coming at him and only instincts that he had not possessed yesterday kept him from being sliced clean in half with the first slash. Instead he merely got a deep cut across his chest and would have gotten more if he hadn't leapt up to cling to the ceiling. His chest hurt and he could see the blood from the wound falling to the floor below but had to scramble back like a spider when the Asian woman leapt up to attack him once more. Pushing off the ceiling, he dropped back to the ground and made a run for it hoping that whatever Lucien had transformed him into was quicker than the crazy lady chasing him at the moment. Running caused the pain from his chest wound to flare with every step but he could already feel it beginning to lessen along with the flow of blood trickling down his body.

"What's the matter beast?! Scared?! YOU SHOULD BE!!!" The Nun yelled at him from behind as she pursued him.

Seeing a window, he made a break for it and hoped it would take him to someplace near to a clump of fighters that hopefully would distract the insane woman following him long enough for him to get away and, without hesitation, he jumped. He found that his ears had served him well because, not fifty yards from him, was a large group of vampires, Lycans and armed priests that were trying to kill one another. Running right at them at full speed, he waited until he was sure that the crazy person following him had caught up before he leapt right over the group to the other side. Once there, he went down into as low a stance as he could manage and did his absolute best to sneak away while using his nose along with his ears to keep the group between him and the crazy lady. When he heard the sounds of screaming, both the painful type of the newly hurt as well as a singular unstable female one, he knew that his plan had worked and darted off to the side of the building that he'd seen Selene fighting on.

When he arrived, he was somewhat gratified to see that pretty much all of the fighters that had been there were either dead, gone or about to leave the area.

"Selene!" He yelled calling out for the only person here who he'd consider an ally.

She turned her head in his direction almost immediately but the light of recognition dimmed a bit as he got closer. This confused him for a moment until he realized that he looked decidedly different than the last time he'd seen her and so he slowed his approach in order to seem less threatening. He wished he knew how to change back into his old self. He knew that Lycans could change back and forth from their human forms to their werewolf forms at will so, by this reasoning, he should be able to turn back to normal if he could just figure out the trick.

"Selene… it's me… Michael." He said with his hands up in what he hoped was a non-threatening stance, "I know I look… different… but it's me."

"What happened to you?" Selene asked with wary acceptance of who he was.

"Lucien injected me with blood from someone named Amelia and it mixed with whatever he put in me when he bit me." He replied, summing up the entire thing as best he could, "I got knocked out and, when I woke up, I was like this."

"So he's done it… he's really done it…" Selene whispered as though he was the living proof of a story she'd heard.

"Done what?" he asked, even though he had a feeling he knew the answer already.

"Lucien's been trying for centuries to find a way to unify the two species, to create a hybrid possessing the strongest traits of both vampire and Lycan, so he could finally gain enough power to defeat his enemies." Selene replied with a look of unrest in her eyes at the implications she was coming up with, "He was certain that the key was finding the descendent of Corvenus that had chosen to remain human."

"Me." He said, finishing her explanation and finally getting the big picture settled in his head.

"Yes." She stated sympathetically at how this situation had to make him feel.

"So that's what you monsters have been plotting. Scheming to unleash a new unholy breed upon the world." Came the voice that sounded entirely too sure of himself, "I will not allow that to happen! With my fellow warriors of Iscariot, we will wipe out this infernal experiment before it has a chance to infect His Earth."

Turning, he saw what appeared to be a person of commanding rank wearing the same sort of outfit as the rest of the warrior priests he'd seen on the mansion grounds so far. He looked young, early to mid-twenties by his estimation, but also confident of his power and in the outcome of this mission. Given his lack of experience fighting and Selene being the only other person present that he could trust to watch his back, he wasn't entirely sure that the commander wouldn't succeed in making good on his promises.

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_**The Southern Side of Viktor's Estate, One Minute Later, Xander's P.O.V**_

"Hahahahahaha! C'mon, oh Judas PRIEST!" Xander yelled as his arm was lopped off for what had to have been the twentieth time since the battle began, "Is this the best you can do!?!"

"Nae even close, MONSTER!!" Cried Paladin Alexander Anderson as he pressed his advantage, "I'm just prolongin' things to make sure you feel all the pain yuir kind has done to this world! Only when I'm satisfied will I finish ye!!"

"Glad to hear it, because I'm havin' way too much fun to have it end now! HA!" He said as he lashed out with his sword and added what would likely be another scar to the Iscariot enforcer's face.

Indeed! While the previous battles had been nice, comparing them to what he was experiencing now was like comparing a single Twinkie to an entire world made out of his favorite snack cakes. He couldn't get enough! The pain he was feeling was barely registering and, thanks to the healing powers of a True Nosfuratu, any damage done to him healed up within seconds. While he didn't know what the outer limits of his healing abilities were, he was fairly certain that it would take far more than what Anderson was currently capable of. Nevertheless, the paladin was likely the only fighter on the battlefield he could truly cut loose with and not have to worry too much about the fight ending prematurely. From how Lilith had described Anderson's ability, he'd been afraid that all it would take to defeat the fanatic was the severing of all his limbs and that would be that. However, if he was right, then the Vatican had improved the paladin's regenerator abilities to the point where reattaching severed limbs simply took pressing the two parts together for a minute before everything was as good as new. It had taken right up until this very moment for him to figure out the details but, now that he had a better grip on Paladin Anderson's upgraded abilities, he could really enjoy the fight.

He just had to let Anderson reattach any limbs without letting the fool realize that he was being permitted to do so rather than the Iscariot's skill buying time to do so.

In terms of swordsmanship, Anderson had the advantage because, while he might have inherited quite a bit in terms of memories from Alucard, it wasn't something he could immediately use without practice. Much like if someone read every book there was on marksmanship, that didn't mean that they could use firearms with any significant degree of skill. His time fighting alongside Buffy gave him some experience and, with the memories of the No Life King, he'd gotten a little better but in this fight with Alexander Anderson, it was his high speed healing abilities that were keeping him in the fight. As fast as the Vatican warrior could cut him up, his body could patch itself back together almost as quickly. A fact, based on the look on Anderson's face, that was becoming apparent to the Iscariot enforcer.

"It'd appear that I need to go a bit further to send you back to hell. Fortunately our Lord's warnings reached our seers in plenty of time for me to prepare for this night. PREPARE YERSELF!!" Anderson bellowed as he pulled a hard cover book out of his jacket, opened it up and then slammed it down onto the ground with his right hand flat up against the pages.

As a golden glow began to come from the pages of the book, the pages shot out of the book to paste themselves on every available surface. Whether it was a wall, a door or even the grassy lawn, the pages never failed to secure themselves to what they hit. When the book was completely empty, a golden energy wall shot up from the edges of the territory covered by the pages completely separating the two of them from the rest of the battle. He didn't need to think long to know what the purpose of this little light show was: it was meant to hamper or otherwise hinder his True Nosfuratu powers. No doubt the paladin thought that this would retard his healing powers enough to finally 'destroy the unholy creature', but it was clear that the fool didn't realize just how vast that power truly was. Still, it was a decent enough handicap that it would make the fight more interesting and force him to work that much harder to keep it going a little while longer.

It was a mix of painful and pleasurable each time that Anderson succeeded in cutting him, with his slowed down healing adding an extra thrill factor to the mix.

It was about five minutes later, though, that his telepathy picked up on a spike of pain from a mind he'd been keeping a metaphorical eye on, causing him to deliver a particularly nasty blow to Anderson to buy him enough time to learn more. Looking around he was just in time to see the duo of the Death Dealer Selene and one hybridized Michael Corvin running and dodging from a group of pursuing Iscariot soldiers. This was **unacceptable**. It would appear that he would have to cut his little sparring match with Paladin Alexander Anderson a little short.

Pity.

"Now that is truly pitiful, Anderson. A group of eight Iscariot against only two?" He mocked as he began to draw on the power within him, "Is Iscariot so afraid of a Corvenus vampire and an amateur hybrid that they cannot fight fairly?"

"Fair means little in times of war monster!" Anderson replied as he locked swords with his foe once more, "And make no mistake, Iscariot is most definitely at war with you and your filthy kind!"

"War, eh? Allow me to show you what it truly means to go to war with someone like me!!" He yelled before channeling his willpower and sending his power skyrocketing.

He could feel his power expanding within him and could see as it pressed itself against Anderson's 'holy barrier', causing crackling energy to go up and down as it strained to remain stable.

"'Tis useless, vampire! This holy barrier system was designed to work against Alucard himself!" Anderson said, making it clear he didn't think his chances of breaking it were great, "There is no way a so called No Life Prince can beat something meant to humble the self-proclaimed No Life King!"

"Then you have nothing to worry about, then." He said as he pushed his power even higher, causing the bolts racing across the barrier to become more frequent as well as lasting, "Let's test that theory!"

With an insane smile on his face, he pulled more and more on the power within him, privately marveling at how there seemed to be no end to his power. Just when he thought that he would finally arrive at the limit of his powers, he mowed right by it, proving to him that his prediction was completely wrong. It was such a power trip to feel it grow higher and higher until he was sure that he was causing the space around him to warp with all the energy he was producing. This continued until he could feel the barrier about to break and with a split second decision chose to break it with a little flair.

"HHHAAAA!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs as he thrust out his arms just as the golden barrier shattered under the strain his power had placed on it.

Alas, because he had never before tapped into his power to this degree, the sudden absence of the holy barrier cause his power to expand outwards like a wave shaking the foundation of the mansion and knocking just about everyone, save Paladin Anderson, off their feet. Deciding that he didn't have the time to waste, he shot forward, riding off the last of the power he was slowly reigning in, so that he could close the distance between himself and the Iscariot enforcer. Then, with two diagonal slashes that formed a V, he severed Judas Priests arms and legs from his body, leaving only the head still attached to the torso. Curses and the conveying of pain naturally, Anderson made vows of retribution, pain and death but he was pretty much oblivious to this as he turned to face the humans that had pursued his lovely couple. Half were already back on their feet and the rest would be so soon but his eyes focused on the one those on their feet were positioned to protect. Obviously the commanding officer and just the sort of person he would need to 'persuade' to withdraw the Iscariot forces from the region.

"I take it you're the one in charge of these so-called pious warriors of the Vatican, little man?" He asked rhetorically as he advanced on the fool who thought he was in charge, "Not very impressive if you ask me. Insufficient protection of their vital areas, foolishly equipped melee weaponry and poor use of the environment to your group's advantage. I would expect such sloppy work from a low class street gang or an overnight militia, but not from a group that claims to have honed their skills over many centuries. PATHETIC!!"

By this time all ten of the Iscariot group were back on their feet and, the moment he reached the halfway point between where he'd been to where they were, they opened fire with their guns. Holy silver was sent his way by the dozens and he endured it all for, at his current power level, they hurt him about as much as normal bullets would. Before too long, though, they had expended all their rounds and were quickly trying to put fresh clips but he would not let them bother him with more of their pitiful bullets.

"Nice try. Now let me show you how to truly make every bullet count!" He declared as he used the telekinetic ability that was now his to summon two Heckler & Koch MP5s to his hands.

Flicking the switch that would set it to single shot firing rate, he took aim at his first target and fired.

With the blood spraying out the back of the Iscariot soldier's head as the bullet flew into the front and out the back, he began to teleport from shadow to shadow. Every time he materialized, another member of either the Iscariot or Viktor's most loyal subjects died a most horrible death. Even though he knew that normal bullets, which was the current ammunition of his weapons, was not as effective against the Corvenus vampires as, say, the ultra violet rounds cooked up by the Lycans, he made do with what he had. Fortunately for him the Lycans had been trimmed down in number to the point where they wouldn't be overly eager to do beyond what they had to to stay alive. That fit perfectly with the future that his imagination was crafting for him with while he dealt out death to those he thought needed to die. By the time he was done and all his chosen prey had fallen dead to the ground, he was right back standing fifteen feet from the leader of the Iscariot forces, who stood frozen in fear amidst the fallen forms of his troops. The only ones he left alive were Paladin Anderson and the two ladies who seemed to be more than your run of the mill Iscariot agents.

He figured he couldn't be a complete ass and take away Section Thirteen's best operatives.

Well, he could… but he wanted to see if they could get any stronger. It'd certainly make the re-match all the more entertaining when they came looking for payback.

"Well, I think that just about does it for your group, little man. I suggest you, Anderson and the two ladies still breathing pack up your toys." He said as he dropped the empty guns to the ground, "True, you might find dying in battle preferable to running back to your boss with your tail between your legs, but, then again, forgiveness is divine. It's what your God likes to do, right? Then everything should be fine."

The twenty-something man just stood there, staring at him in complete horror as though actually physically paralyzed.

With a sigh he decided he'd have to give the idiot a little visual incentive to get his ass in gear.

Deciding to employ one of Alucard's favorite moves, he used his power to cause two demonic hellhound heads to burst out of his body and turn to face the Iscariot commander.

With bark from each head, both perfectly in synch with one another, he watched with some disbelief as the Iscariot boy's eyes rolled back and the idiot faint completely.

"Pathetic!" He muttered in disgust as he turned away from the fool's unconscious form and walked to where Michael Corvin stood next to a wounded Selene.

Hopefully the next time he tangled with Iscariot, he'd actually face a worthy commander.

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_**The Grounds of Viktor's Estate, Same Time, Selene's P.O.V**_

_I… I can't believe it._ Selene thought as she watched the True Nosfuratu walk towards her and Michael, _He killed over twenty people in forty seconds!_

She was completely shocked. She had heard stories from the others about the True Nosfuratu and what they could do but seeing it first hand put even the most detailed tales to shame. She had **felt** his power when it had washed over her, knocking her and Michael to the ground, and she had been able to tell right then and there that he was the most dangerous being on the battlefield, without question. The fight could have gone either way, depending on which side this True Nosfuratu chose to lend his strength to. Now the Iscariot forces had been decimated, the Lycans had been forced into a perpetual defensive position and her own people's numbers had been trimmed to only those Death Dealers and bureaucrats she saw as being trustworthy. Almost all of those that had been killed had been supporters of either Viktor or Kraven, leaving only those who were either on the fence or whose only loyalty was to the Coven as a whole. While not the way she would have chosen to go about it, she found herself somewhat approving of the current circumstances since it would allow her people to regain their honorable ways without interference, whether it be from within or without.

"Indeed it will, Selene. I am so happy we're on the same page here." Spoke the True Nosfuratu with a smile that only got larger if that was at all possible, "But I'm afraid there's one more fight to be fought before we can truly call it a night."

Almost as though the high level vampire had timed it precisely, two dark figures dropped to the ground twenty meters away, snarling and slashing at one another. It took her only a moment to realize that the two figures were hybrids like Michael was and, once the pair separated long enough for her to see their faces, she knew who they were as well. The one missing a single wing with its partner barely attached to the main body was none other than the Elder Marcus while the other bleeding quite heavily was the Lycan Elder, Lucien. How had they become hybrids?

"That's an easy enough question to answer, dear Selene." The True Nosfurate replied, obviously telepathically hearing her mental question, "Lucien used a cocktail of Amelia and Michael's blood to become a hybrid. As for dear Marcus, he has you to thank for his newfound status. If you hadn't brought that Lycan doctor into show Viktor, then the werewolf's blood wouldn't have trickled down in Marcus' open mouth."

Was the red eyed demon now standing beside her and Michael telling the truth? Was she truly to blame for turning Marcus into his current form? And if she was what did that truly mean?

"Merely that you've managed to spice up an otherwise boring battle with some new talent." Replied the seriously unstable looking vampire who once again proved he was eavesdropping on her thoughts.

"Stay out of my mind." She growled, fixing the man with her best glare.

She knew she had no real way to oppose him, whether it was physically in the real world or mentally inside her head, but she refused to let his acts go unanswered. Her pride as a Death Dealer, as a vampire, wouldn't allow her to be pushed around by someone like him. However she could see by the sparkle in his eyes that her attempts at opposing his actions only amused him more, so instead she decided she would ignore him entirely. It was a proven way for thwarting the desires of bullies to simply ignore them since it was a reaction that such people were after.

"Then I suppose it wouldn't interest you to know that your dear Sire Viktor is currently bleeding out on the roof of the mansion. It's doubtful that he'll survive without a fresh infusion of blood and some vampiric medicine." Spoke the crimson clad creep before chuckling at Viktor's predicament.

"You find this amusing!?" She asked reaching her limit for tolerating this jackass.

"Of course and you would as well if you knew the truth about your dear, vampiric papa." The creature replied, never once losing the unhinged smile, "He is both responsible for your new life as well as the destruction of your old one."

"What do you mean?" Michael asked, entering the conversation for the first time.

"I thought I'd made it pretty clear but I guess a newbie to the weird needs a map drawn for him," replied the True Nosfuratu, shaking his head in disbelief. "Did you not find it odd, Selene, that out of all the Corvenus vampires hunting Lycan's, their ruler happened to be the one leading the way during the attack on your home? After all, how many times has the old fool left his throne since he turned you, my dear? Not many, I'd wager."

It was true that after Viktor had finished helping her to adapt to her new status as a vampire, he had retreated into his domain as Elder but she had accepted this, believing that his responsibilities were important. In the decades that followed, her time with him was spread out as the chain of command was passed from Viktor to Amelia to Marcus with a hundred years of reigning bestowed on each of them. If how he had behaved since she'd been turned was typical of how he'd lived his life prior to meeting her, then it was indeed abnormal for him to personally lead a group of Death Dealers against the Lycans. What was this man trying to get at? Was he trying to imply that there was some sort of hidden motive in Viktor being present at the time of her family's destruction?

"The truth of the matter is that it wasn't the Lycans who slaughtered your family, dear Selene. It was **Viktor** who ordered and led the group of Death Dealers that killed your family," stated the beast in human form with glee at the big revelation. "Yet when he came to you, he just couldn't bring himself to slay you as well since you reminded him so much of the daughter he executed before the start of the war. Instead he turned you and tried to forge you into the perfect daughter, one far superior to Sonya, as a means of atoning for past mistakes."

"You lie!!" She yelled, forcing herself to her feet despite her injury.

"Oh really? Then perhaps you'll believe it if it comes from the mouth of the person I purloined the information from." Declared the True Nosfuratu before he stretched out his right arm and, with a slow rising of that limb, summoned a form from the darkness.

The form was instantly recognizable as Kraven and it looked like the fop had seen better days as his clothes were in tatters with blood coming from his wounds. Apparently the fool hadn't been slain in the opening moments of the battle as she'd hoped but rather had been captured at some point by the one who'd turn her against her Lord.

"Kraven was, after all, Viktor's right hand vampire for quite a while, as you well know. He'd know all of the Elder's dirty little secrets." Said Mr. Scarlet before he turned to his prisoner, "Tell her, Kraven, tell her of the night that her family was slain, and I may decide to let you live."

"I-It's true. Viktor w-was the one who killed your family. Not the Lycans." Kraven said as he raised his battered head to look her in the eye, "Never could follow his rule about drinking only animal blood. Had to taste the good stuff, human blood, every once and a while. I kept this secret from the others and cleaned up after him when he finished. One by one he drained your family dry until he came to your room. In the end, due to your resemblance to his dear daughter Sonya, he chose to turn you instead of killing you. A surprise, given how he ordered the execution of his daughter for the same crime you seem to be committing right now: falling in love with a Lycan."

"It can't be true…" she whispered as she wavered on her feet at the revelation assaulting her mind.

"If you don't believe me or Kraven, then ask Viktor himself." The True Nosfuratu said as he freed Kraven from his grasp, "I believe the old fart is still conscious, if more than a little unable to help himself."

Before she could say yes or no, the shadows around her seemed to leap from their perches and wrap around both her and Michael, submerging them in darkness. For a second she tried to fight it but just as quickly as it came, it left leaving her in the open air once more but not on the grass where she'd been a moment ago. Instead she was atop the mansion standing less than ten feet from the bloodied form of Elder Viktor, who had managed to sit himself up against one of the statues that were placed at the corners of the roof. Looking at the man that sired her, the first instinct she had was to go to him and render all the aid she could in his recovery. However she restrained herself as a whisper of suspicion in her mind bade her at least determine whether the Nosfuratu's accusation had any truth to it.

"Selene…" Viktor rasped out as he seemed to be having trouble finding the strength to do more than speak, "…help me."

"I will but first I need to know the truth about something, my Lord." She said doing her best to keep her voice even, "An accusation has been made by a True Nosfuratu that it was you, not the Lycans, that slew my family centuries ago. This claim has been somewhat support by the testimony of Kraven. While I know better to take that traitor's words at face value I would know the truth from your own lips. Were you the one who slew my family?"

For a time they stood there, looking at one another, until Viktor seemed to come to a decision regarding his reply.

"Yes. I took them from you." Viktor replied with nothing but honesty in his eyes, "But I gave you so much more. Was it not a fair trade? The lives of your mortal family for immortality! So long as you drink blood and avoid the weaknesses of our kind, you will live forever never aging even a little. What is a group of mere mortals compared to that?"

"More than you are capable of comprehending." She stated with an icy rage that surprised everyone present even herself.

Seeing the Elder's own weapon laying nearby, she walked over to it and smoothly picked it up before giving it a practice twirl with her right hand. Seeing the weapon and seeing the still unrepentant Elder looking at her, she knew what had to be done and had no qualms about doing it. Leaping into the air she adjusted her grip on the sword and, with the power of both her arms, thrust it downwards, sending the tip of the blade right through Viktor's head. So anger-driven was this that it actually cracked the stone beneath her Sire but she didn't care. The moment that the Eder had admitted to being the one behind the deaths of her family, all that had mattered to her was retribution. Now, though, as the gravity of what she'd done hit her, she realized that with Viktor and Amelia dead only Marcus remained to rule the Corvenus breed of vampire. Add to that the odds of Iscariot returning in order to make up for their defeat here and she could very well have laid the groundwork for the destruction of her people.

_Perhaps. Then again, maybe you've simply cleared the way for a new beginning._ Came the voice of the True Nosfuratu inside of her head, _After all, 'the enemey of my enemy is my friend', right?_

Mentally growling a bit at yet another mental intrusion, her mind just wouldn't let her just delete what had been said and so she tried to figure out what the mentally unstable male had been getting at. It was true that with so many of the old guard dead that an opportunity had formed to abolish many of the policies she found distasteful but there was one obstacle that would have to be removed.

Marcus.

Looking over the side of the mansion roof, she could see that the Elder-turned-hybrid was still battling with Lucien with neither side really gaining an advantage over the other. So long as the last Coven Elder lived, few that thought as she did would dare to defy him if he chose to adhere to the old ways. It was then, though, that the second part of the Nosfuratu's message gained significance since she could see that, if she allied herself with Lucien, they could conceivably defeat Marcus. It would not be easy but perhaps if she had Michael's support, the centuries-old immortal would be more receptive to the idea. Then, once all of it was done and Marcus was slain, she could take the lead and enter into a truce with the Lycans. Such a thought was thoroughly outside her normal mental territory since, up until she'd met Michael, she'd been determined to hunt down and kill every last one but the events since the subway had changed her point of view rather drastically. Besides, it was inevitable that Iscariot would return and in greater numbers than before to redeem themselves in the eyes of their God. If either the Lycans or her kind were to survive, they would have no choice but to join forces and defend this region side-by-side against those who would see them dead.

With that in mind and Viktor's sword still in her hand, she stepped off the side of the roof and dropped to the ground below.

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_**The Mansion Grounds Formerly Owned by the Elder Viktor, One Minute Later, Lucien's P.O.V**_

"I have had about enough of your interference, Marcus." Lucien growled as he tried to hide the pain his injuries caused him.

"Likewise, Lucien. I think it is time that we put an end to this fight." Marcus stated with his hybrid form missing both wings now, "Viktor won't wait forever, you know."

With that they charged one another, both with renewed determination to wipe the other out by any means necessary, tearing into the other's flesh as soon as they got close enough. It had been like this almost from the moment the fight between him and the former vampire Elder had begun but with his successful removal of his foe's wings, he knew that victory for him was only a matter of time. Marcus' primary strength had been his aerial advantage as well as the superior reach his wings gave him. With those appendages removed, they both had the same number of limbs and so it came down to who was the superior hand-to-hand combatant. At first this seemed as though they were evenly matched but it soon became clear that the former vampire Elder's recent slumber had still not left him entirely. Add to that the fact that he had learned more than a few new fighting styles that had not existed the last time that Marcus had been awake and he was quickly gaining ground. Despite the enhanced healing abilities that he had gained a greater understanding of as the fight progressed, they were nowhere near swift enough for his foe to turn matters around anytime soon. At the same time though he himself was beginning to reach the limits of how much damage he could take and still survive. He had to end the battle soon or else the revenge he sought for so long would be lost to him.

NO!

He had worked so hard for so long to avenge Sonya's death!

Pooling all that remained of his strength together with his determination, he began to systematically strike at each vital spot on Marcus' body one after another. With breaking bones and severed tendons, he began to chip away at his enemy's body while at the same time using some of the more advanced defensive techniques he knew to minimize the damage he himself took. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but in the end he was still standing and the bat hybrid was on his knees. Bringing back his right hand, he prepared to drive it through his weakened opponent's head but, before he could move, a silver blade came out of nowhere to rest lightly at his neck. He chastised himself for not being more aware of his surroundings but he knew that he'd been so focused on Marcus and holding back the effects of his injuries that someone sneaking up on him wasn't impossible. As the blade moved around without leaving his neck he saw that the person who currently had the ability to behead him was none other than the Death Dealer that Michael Corvin had been so enamored with.

"Not one move, Lucien" the Death Dealer said with cold, blue eyes.

"Is there something I can help you with, my dear?" He asked her while also monitoring Marcus' recovery, "In case you missed it, I'm in the middle of something here."

"I-I would never h-have thought that Viktor's favored Death Dealer would come to my aide." Marcus said as he tried numerous times to get back to get back to his feet.

"You're not wrong." Stated the Death Dealer as she took the sword away from his throat and rammed it into Marcus' head from the underside in one smooth move.

To say that it was a shock would be putting it mildly.

So much so that he couldn't bring himself to feel angry at the vampiress for taking his foe from him.

"And so dies the Old Order," declared the female Death Dealer as she pulled the sword from the bat hybrid's head, scraping against bone the entire time.

What did she mean by that statement? Had this been her intention from the beginning?

"What precisely do you mean by that?" He asked now wary of her since technically he could be considered a member of the Old Order.

"Precisely as it sounded, Lucien. From Viktor himself I learned the truth of my family's deaths. From Michael I learned about the death of your lover Sonya mere moments ago." The Death Dealer declared as she turned to face him, "These two events have made it clear that the source of the war between our peoples and the destruction of my family can be nothing else than the ruling class of the vampire Covens. It was their intolerance of your relationship with Sonya that caused the war. It was Viktor's disgusting habits that destroyed my family. If there is ever to be a lasting peace for our two people then they had to be removed. It's as simple as that."

Peace.

It had been a side deal between him and Kraven that once he became ruler of both Covens that an ironclad peace treaty between the two branches of the Corvenus family. Mentally, though, he hadn't been all that certain he would bother to pursue it. After all, it had been his plan that if he was successful in achieving his current hybrid status that he would kill that useless vampire himself and lay waste to every vampire he could find after finishing off Viktor. That, however, had changed with the arrival of Iscariot, at which he'd been forced to adjust things accordingly. Now, though, wiping out the vampires of Corvenus appeared to be less of a certainty with his pack reduced by more than half. Add to that Iscariot's reputation for returning the humiliation of defeat upon their foes threefold and it was unlikely they would allow this defeat to go unpunished. Prolonging the fight between the vampire Covens and the Lycans would only benefit the Iscariot when they returned.

In the end, peace was the only option that would lead to victory.

"Indeed. Then I suggest you speak with your people just as I will speak with mine." He said noticing the finer details of the sword in her hand and realized what it meant, "Both sides will have to be unified if peace talks are to succeed."

The female Death Dealer had killed Viktor.

Pondering this as he walked away, he was intrigued by how he wasn't all that bothered by this fact. For so long images of killing his former master himself had been all that had sustained him since Sonya's death and now his chance to personally kill the Elder vampire was gone. If he had to guess, he'd say that the reason he wasn't upset was because in a way Viktor's end was just poetic enough to satisfy him. If the vampiress had told him the truth, she had been one of Viktor's favorites, a daughter of sorts, and if so then it was indeed proper for one of the fiend's daughters to avenge the death of another. Besides, while revenge had indeed been a priority of his, he was not blind to the needs of his people. He had assembled every Lycan in the region for the assault and now most of them were dead with the survivors wounded. While not all Lycans had come when he'd sent messages requesting their aid, those that lived elsewhere in the world were few and lived far apart from each other. With Viktor dead and his people's numbers depleted it was clear where his focus should be.

Issuing a command to the others with a growl, he led them from the mansion grounds back to their lair where he would convey the idea of entering into a truce with the Corvenus vampires. It would not be an easy idea to sell to them. The older Lycans like Raze would oppose the idea due to the number of wrongs the vampires had committed against him since the day they first met. The younger ones would still have fresh wounds from their first brushes with the war and what it meant to be a Lycan hunted by a Death Dealer. Still, he was the acknowledged Alpha of the pack and now that he had the added strength of being a hybrid as well, there would be no one who'd be able to oppose him. While Lycans were equal part wolf and man, most chose to keep their inner animals under control while placing their human selves in a place of dominance. Nevertheless, there were still times that their inner beast influenced their behavior and one such instance was in how they established who their leaders would be. As long as the majority of the pack adhered to this method, he would have no problems winning most of them over. All he would need was a logical enough reason for them to put aside their hatred of the vampires and accept peaceful co-existence as being the way they would live their lives from here on out.

Difficult, but he could do it.

He'd managed to convince them to follow him this far, so what would a little farther matter to them.

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_**One Week Later, London, The Hellsing Mansion, Office of Sir Integra Hellsing, Integra's P.O.V**_

"What news out of Pardubice, Walter?" Integra asked as her right hand man and surrogate father entered the room.

"It would appear that matters there have stabilized somewhat, Sir Integra, although the new power structure is making others in our line of work nervous." Walter replied as he walked up to the leader of Hellsing's desk to place a full folder before her.

"How so?" She asked as she perused the file.

"Most of the old order amongst the Corvenus vampires have been slain, including all three Elders. All that remain of them are a few of the more experienced Death Dealers and the lesser members of the bureaucracy," Walter replied as he stood before her dutifully. "While it has yet to be made official, our operatives in the area believe that a Death Dealer by the name of Selene will be selected to rule over the Covens."

"Oh? How old is she?" She asked wondering if this Death Dealer could truly do the job.

"Roughly six hundred years old or so. Give or take a decade. She was apparently the favored Death Dealer of the Elder Viktor and, while there exists no corroborating evidence, our agents there believe that Selene is the one that slew him," Walter replied, reciting what he knew from memory. "It has been confirmed, though, that she was indeed the one to kill the Elder Marcus."

"Impressive," she stated since it was something unheard of for a Corvenus of only six centuries to best the oldest of her kind. "But I suspect there is something more to your report than a change of leadership."

"Indeed it is. The element of the report that concerns our demon hunting community is on page four of the report." Walter replied indicating that she should look on the mentioned page.

Flipping over pages one through three, she came upon the one her right hand man had wanted her to look at. Reading a bit more thoroughly than before, it didn't take long before she found what had truly set her counterparts throughout the world abuzz. Somehow a new breed of demon had been born into this world and, apparently, possessed the power to match the strength of a Corvenus Vampire Elder. Match it and, perhaps, surpass it. The agents, by their own admission, had been a fair distance from the battle so they could not do more than pass on what they could see clearly. A difficult thing, considering the chaos that usually accompanied a fierce battle. Nevertheless it was a potentially dangerous thing to have a new breed she knew nothing about, whether it be their strengths or their weaknesses. Also, considering the viral nature of the Corvenus breed, this new species had the potential to grow astronomically. The only thing that prevented her from mobilizing Hellsing to wipe out the two surviving hybrids was the fact that Corvenus breeds were not guaranteed to turn a human when they made the attempt. Due to the viral nature of their condition, a bite from a Corvenus vampire or a Corvenus Lycan stood just as great a chance of killing a bitten human as it did of converting them. If this new kind of demon had similar difficulty making more of its kind then perhaps the state of affairs was not as bad as some feared.

"Order our agents to draw back for the time being but to monitor traffic both into and out of the city. We must ascertain the abilities of this new breed in order to determine whether or not it poses a threat to the world." She declared placing the open folder down on the ground.

"Understood. I will inform them at once." Walter said before turning to leave the room.

"And Walter?" She said, thinking of one possibility that might be worth exploring.

"Yes, Sir Integra?" Walter asked, pausing in the process of reaching out for the doorknob.

"Monitor the activity of Iscariot in that region of the world. I wish to be notified if they choose to make another assault on Pardubice." She commanded as her idea took hold in her mind, "It may prove to be to our advantage to invite ourselves to the next confrontation."

"As you wish, my lady." Walter stated before exiting the room altogether.

Alone in the room if not in her thoughts, she wondered what new chaos lay in the future for the world. With the birth of this No Life Prince at the hands of Das Millennium, she felt as though the Earth was about to enter a time of change although whether it would be for the better or for the worse she knew not.

"Indeed, but it should be amusing nonetheless," came the amused voice of Agent Alucard before he emerged from the ceiling. "I find myself looking forward to it with great anticipation."

That did not improve her mood.

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_**London, Across Town, Watcher's Council HQ, Same Time, Quentin Travers' P.O.V **_

_Dark times are on the horizon._ Travers thought as he finished reading the report from the Council's spies in the Czech Republic.

Ever since they'd first learned of the possible existence of a True Nosfuratu by the name of the No Life Prince, he had devoted considerable amounts of Council resources monitoring the situation. Some had questioned this, dismissing the possible threats in Pardubice, but he had used his power as head of the Council to force their compliance. He knew better than them the shadowed paths that events such as these could take and refused to wait until it was too late to take action. Yet, if these reports were accurate, they may have already passed the point of no return. A new breed of demon? Terrible. As if they didn't have problems enough with the various breeds of creatures that already inhabited the world! The only saving grace was the fact that these abominations were only two in number and, as such, could be easily monitored. Already his mind was beginning to form plans for learning the strengths and weaknesses of this new species so that, when the time came, they'd be able to wipe them out before they could grow in number. It was quite boon, indeed, to be in a position to dispose of a harmful new breed before it could grow. So many times he wished that there was some way that he could travel back to the time just after the last Old One left this realm so he could make quick work of all the demon breeds that now existed. With them so confused and scattered with the departure of their masters, it'd have been a simple task to dispose of them with the soldiers the Council could bring to bear.

_Alas, wishful thinking never solved anything,_ he thought as he set down the folder he'd been brought from the communications room. _No. Better to keep one's mind on the present, one what one could affect, then spend countless hours on what was set in stone._

Hopefully it would not take long to learn what they needed to know about this new breed and, once properly informed, he would order the best black ops team they had in their employ to eliminate both members of this new species of demon. After all, while he was not prejudiced enough to think that all demons were evil, he did know from his younger years in the research division that the harmful species far outweighed the neutral or benevolent ones. As such, he felt safe in his judgment that these new monsters were of the harmful variety and needed to be removed from the world before they became too plentiful to properly deal with.

Then there was the issue of the No Life Prince himself.

Not even a week since they'd confirmed his presence in Pardubice and things had drastically changed, though it was debatable as to whether it was for the better or worse. The old guard amongst the Corvenus breed had been wiped aside, with the sole exception being the Lycan Alpha, leaving only the younger and less experienced ones in command of the region. On the one side this was good since it would ensure that both foul breeds were too busy reorganizing the pecking order amongst their kind to cause mischief elsewhere. On the other side, though, it meant that their actions would be less predictable since it was unlikely that they would go about their evil ways as established by the vampire Elders. No, their way of doing things would change, change in ways that may not be able to be predicted, and unless mankind was truly fortunate something truly horrible could happen before actions could be taken to prevent it. By upsetting the status quo in that region, the old measures for battling the foul Corvenus breeds could very well become invalid if the changes inspired by the Nosfuratu's presence were great enough.

_We will have to be very watchful of where the No Life Prince goes in the future._ He thought with a frown as he began to recall all the various 'Hot Spots' that existed in the world, _He would seem to create chaos and change where ever he goes._

Chaos and change, the two things he despised unless it was he who was the origin of both.

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_**Vatican City, Rome, Italy**_

_**Headquarters of the Special Section 13 'Iscariot Organization, Office of Father Jacob**_

_**Father Jacob's P.O.V**_

He was due for an audience with his Holiness in twenty minutes.

Contrary to what some might think, this was not a good thing.

It had not been two days since Paladin Alexander Anderson, Sister Yumiko and Heinkel Wolfe returned with Timothy but rather than in victory, the four had returned utterly defeated. With anger and shame, the facts of the operation were related to him without censorship, causing him to feel similar emotions even though he had not been there. A force had been sent in with the objective of destroying the unholy monsters and had come back with only their three strongest warriors as well as one pathetic halfwit. Even worse was the fact that, unless he was very much misreading the events, it sounded like the No Life Prince had **let** them leave rather than being unable to prevent their departure. This would not be a good thing for Section Thirteen. The Pope's confidence in them had already been shaken by Maxwell's power hungry actions and news of their defeat would only reduce their confidence in his organization even further. The only points of the debriefing that would work in his favor was the fact that both the Corvenus Lycans and the Corvenus vampires had been reduced heavily in number. The fact that it was Anderson who slew the Elder Amelia would also be a positive point due to the notoriety of the female vampire. Still, someone would have to shoulder the blame for the loss of so many lives especially since the mission wasn't completely authorized.

He refused to let that someone be him.

Better that someone such as Timothy bear the full blame for the fiasco.

If the blame for the defeat was placed on his head, then it could very well sound the death knell for Iscariot as it was torn down so that something else could be constructed in its place. However, if young Timothy was fingered as the sole reason for the defeat, then Iscariot as a whole might get off with only a stern warning. Yes! This could work! After all, there was no written proof that he had had anything to do with the assault aside from the fact that Timothy was a subordinate of his in Section Thirteen. He could merely act on his earlier plan to claim that the young agent had stolen his cross and used it to gather what he needed. As for why he had not become aware of this theft along with the unauthorized procurement of manpower and weapons sooner, he could simply say that he'd been so busy with the obligations of his new position that he was not aware of Timothy's actions until after the assault group had left. From there, unanswered communications and an inability to send a team to recall the assault group without drawing unwanted attention Iscariot's way would cover his trail nicely.

Neither he nor Iscariot would be able to avoid damage entirely but, so long as the damage was kept to a minimum, then their survival would be assured.

So long as Section Thirteen survived, that was all that mattered.

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_**The Highway Outside of Pardubice, Inside a 'Borrowed' Maserati 3200 GT, Sorina's P.O.V**_

"So where are we going now?" Sorina asked from the back seat of the car.

"Well, with the matter of the Corvenus breeds handled, I thought it'd be a good idea to spin by the land of Tweed & Tea." Xander replied from the driver's seat as they sped along the highway, "It'll be nice to visit the Old Bat and see him face-to-face. Besides, I have some **business** that needs taking care of."

"Business? What business?" Lilith asked from her place in the passenger seat.

"Well… let's just say that I plan to make a few complaints on behalf of the U.S.D.H.S to their current employers." Xander replied with a manic smile that implied that the complaints would be quite **violent** in nature.

"U.S.D.H.S?" Sorina asked, not recognizing the letters.

"The Unified Sisterhood of Demon Hunting Slayers, of course." He replied his smile only growing in size as he spoke, "I have a list of grievances that they want me to bring up with a man by the name of Travers."

As Alexander began to chuckle and then laugh, she found herself almost feeling sorry for this Travers person. She might not known her friend for very long but she knew enough that seeing him behave like this was a solid clue that pain was in someone's future. The part that she found odd though was the fact that she wasn't all that objectionable to the idea of someone getting a pounding or even dying at Xander's hands. Sure, it might have something to do with the fact that this Travers person was just a name as far as she was concerned, but some might argue that it was her two current guardians' bad behavior rubbing off on her. She knew that neither Lilith nor Alexander were perfect examples of sanity but, at the same time, they were better than some of the other people she knew. Better than her family, better than the creeps on the street and leagues higher than those villainous Corvenus vampire in how they behaved. It was just like Lilith often said: True Nosfuratu were the true vampires and the rest were just trash.

_And it was kind of fun hanging with them!_ She thought remembering the night of the fight.

Lilith had taken over the sniping after the first two clips she'd used up but it'd been fun picking off those Corvenus vampires. It was so much like a videogame that she almost forgot that she was ending lives as she fired. Still, as far as she was concerned, it wasn't a crime to kill trash and that's all the Corvenus vampires were from her point of view. She'd stayed away from the people in priest robes, despite the stories she'd heard about the Iscariot people. They might have been jerks but they were still human and she wasn't ready to kill humans just yet. Despite how her family had treated her and the creeps on the streets, they were still human.

Humans could change, become better people, but monsters couldn't.

"London bridge is falling down, falling down, London bridge is falling down, my fair lady! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Xander laughed as he sang the song.

_Though in Alex's case, I hope he can change because he's gonna drive me bananas if he keeps this up._ She thought as she did her best to block out the No Life Prince's singing.

_THE END…FOR NOW!_

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NOTE: Well we've reached the end of the No Life Twin but let me make one thing completely clear to those of you who really liked this fanfic.

THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL!!!!

I can't say when I'll start working on it with so much other stuff on my plate but once I've completed a few more of my in progress fanfics (or all of them) then I'll come back and write the sequel. I know a lot of you won't like this but there are people who like my other fanfics who are emailing me often asking when the next chapter of this fanfic or that fanfic will be up. I can't just ignore them. So I ask that you be patient and try to scratch your itch with some of my other fanfics until I get going on the sequel.

Thank you for all your fabulous reviews!! They've helped me out a lot!!


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